Systems and methods for collecting sensor data in a network of moving things

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for collecting data in a network of moving things. As non-limiting examples, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems and methods for operating sensor systems and collecting data from sensor systems in a power-efficient and network-efficient manner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to, andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/222,135, filed on Sep. 22, 2015, and titled “Systems and Methods forCollecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,” which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The presentapplication is also related to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/221,997, titled “Integrated Communication Network for a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systems and Methods for Synchronizing aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Monitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methods for Managing Mobility in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135, titled “Systemsand Methods for Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methods for Interfacing with a Networkof Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methods for Interfacing with aUser of a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Data Storage and Processing for a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,183,titled “Systems and Methods for Vehicle Traffic Management in a Networkof Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methods for EnvironmentalManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015; U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled“Communication Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled “UtilizingHistorical Data to Correct GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/244,930, titled “Using Anchors to Correct GPS Data in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods for Inter-ApplicationCommunication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems andMethods for Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Oct. 26, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,878,titled “Systems and Methods for Reconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods forOptimizing Data Gathering in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov.10, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled“Systems and Methods for Delay Tolerant Networking in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Nov. 19, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving Coverageand Throughput of Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 9, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,858,titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onDec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled“Systems and Methods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods for Improving FixedAccess Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 30,2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systemsand Methods for Managing Mobility Controllers and Their NetworkInteractions in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016; U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “Captive Portal-related Controland Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 16, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/270,678, titled “Systems andMethods to Extrapolate High-Value Data from a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methods for Remote Software Update andDistribution in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015;U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems andMethods for Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network ofMoving Things,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 62/286,243, titled “Systems and Methods for Adapting a Networkof Moving Things Based on User Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016; U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764, titled “Systems and Methodsto Guarantee Data Integrity When Building Data Analytics in a Network ofMoving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/286,515, titled “Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization andAutomated Bootstrapping of Mobile Access Points in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 25, 2016; U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for Power Management in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems and Methods forAutomating and Easing the Installation and Setup of the InfrastructureSupporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24, 2016; each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

BACKGROUND

Current communication networks are unable to adequately supportcommunication environments involving Mobile and static nodes. As anon-limiting example, current communication networks are unable toadequately support a network comprising a complex array of both movingand static nodes (e.g., the Internet of moving things). Limitations anddisadvantages of conventional methods and systems will become apparentto one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches withsome aspects of the present methods and systems set forth in theremainder of this disclosure with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a diagram of a metropolitan area network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a communication network, in accordancewith various aspects of this disclosure.

FIGS. 5A-5C show a plurality of network configurations illustrating theflexibility and/or and resiliency of a communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of an example communication network, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example sensor system, in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an example AP system for interfacingwith a sensor system, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of an example method of operating a sensorsystem, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an example method of gathering datafrom sensor systems, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of an example method of operating a sensorsystem and network, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of this disclosure provide communication networkarchitectures, systems and methods for supporting a network of mobileand/or static nodes. As a non-limiting example, various aspects of thisdisclosure provide communication network architectures, systems, andmethods for supporting a dynamically configurable communication networkcomprising a complex array of both static and moving communication nodes(e.g., the Internet of moving things). For example, a communicationnetwork implemented in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure may operate in one of a plurality of modalities comprisingvarious fixed nodes, mobile nodes, and/or a combination thereof, whichare selectable to achieve any of a variety of system goals.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE DISCLOSURE

As utilized herein the terms “circuits” and “circuitry” refer tophysical electronic components (i.e., hardware) and any software and/orfirmware (“code”) that may configure the hardware, be executed by thehardware, and or otherwise be associated with the hardware. As usedherein, for example, a particular processor and memory (e.g., a volatileor non-volatile memory device, a general computer-readable medium, etc.)may comprise a first “circuit” when executing a first one or more linesof code and may comprise a second “circuit” when executing a second oneor more lines of code. Additionally, a circuit may comprise analogand/or digital circuitry. Such circuitry may, for example, operate onanalog and/or digital signals. It should be understood that a circuitmay be in a single device or chip, on a single motherboard, in a singlechassis, in a plurality of enclosures at a single geographical location,in a plurality of enclosures distributed over a plurality ofgeographical locations, etc.

As utilized herein, circuitry is “operable” to perform a functionwhenever the circuitry comprises the necessary hardware and code (if anyis necessary) to perform the function, regardless of whether performanceof the function is disabled, or not enabled (e.g., by auser-configurable setting, factory setting or trim, etc.).

As utilized herein, “and/or” means any one or more of the items in thelist joined by “and/or”. As an example, “x and/or y” means any elementof the three-element set {(x), (y), (x, y)}. That is, “x and/or y” means“one or both of x and y.” As another example, “x, y, and/or z” means anyelement of the seven-element set {(x), (y), (z), (x, y), (x, z), (y, z),(x, y, z)}. That is, “x, y, and/or x” means “one or more of x, y, andz.” As utilized herein, the terms “e.g.,” and “for example,”“exemplary,” and the like set off lists of one or more non-limitingexamples, instances, or illustrations.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexamples only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural formsas well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will befurther understood that the terms “comprises,” “includes,” “comprising,”“including,” “has,” “have,” “having,” and the like when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. maybe used herein to describe various elements, these elements should notbe limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish oneelement from another element. Thus, for example, a first element, afirst component or a first section discussed below could be termed asecond element, a second component or a second section without departingfrom the teachings of the present disclosure. Similarly, various spatialterms, such as “upper,” “lower,” “side,” and the like, may be used indistinguishing one element from another element in a relative manner. Itshould be understood, however, that components may be oriented indifferent manners, for example an electronic device may be turnedsideways so that its “top” surface is facing horizontally and its “side”surface is facing vertically, without departing from the teachings ofthe present disclosure.

With the proliferation of the mobile and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, etc.) and logistics for such things to becomeconnected to each other (e.g., in the contexts of smart logistics,transportation, environmental sensing, etc.), a platform that is forexample always-on, robust, scalable and secure that is capable ofproviding connectivity, services and Internet access to such things (orobjects), anywhere and anytime is desirable. Efficient power utilizationwithin the various components of such system is also desirable.

Accordingly, various aspects of the present disclosure provide afully-operable, always-on, responsive, robust, scalable, secureplatform/system/architecture to provide connectivity, services andInternet access to all mobile things and/or static things (e.g.,devices, machines, people, access points, end user devices, sensors,etc.) anywhere and anytime, while operating in an energy-efficientmanner.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a platform that isflexibly configurable and adaptable to the various requirements,features, and needs of different environments, where each environmentmay be characterized by a respective level of mobility and density ofmobile and/or static things, and the number and/or types of access tothose things. Characteristics of various environments may, for example,include high mobility of nodes (e.g., causing contacts or connections tobe volatile), high number of neighbors, high number of connected mobileusers, Mobile Access Points, availability of multiple networks andtechnologies (e.g., sometimes within a same area), etc. For example, themode of operation of the platform may be flexibly adapted fromenvironment to environment, based on each environment's respectiverequirements and needs, which may be different from other environments.Additionally for example, the platform may be flexibly optimized (e.g.,at design/installation time and/or in real-time) for different purposes(e.g., to reduce the latency, increase throughput, reduce powerconsumption, load balance, increase reliability, make more robust withregard to failures or other disturbances, etc.), for example based onthe content, service or data that the platform provides or handleswithin a particular environment.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, manycontrol and management services (e.g., mobility, security, routing,etc.) are provided on top of the platform (e.g., directly, using controloverlays, using containers, etc.), such services being compatible withthe services currently deployed on top of the Internet or othercommunication network(s).

The communication network (or platform), in whole or in part, may forexample be operated in public and/or private modes of operation, forexample depending on the use case. The platform may, for example,operate in a public or private mode of operation, depending on theuse-case (e.g., public Internet access, municipal environment sensing,fleet operation, etc.).

Additionally for example, in an implementation in which various networkcomponents are mobile, the transportation and/or signal controlmechanisms may be adapted to serve the needs of the particularimplementation. Also for example, wireless transmission power and/orrate may be adapted (e.g., to mitigate interference, to reduce powerconsumption, to extend the life of network components, etc.

Various example implementations of a platform, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure, are capable of connectingdifferent subsystems, even when various other subsystems that maynormally be utilized are unavailable. For example, the platform maycomprise various built-in redundancies and fail-recovery mechanisms. Forexample, the platform may comprise a self-healing capability,self-configuration capability, self-adaptation capability, etc. Theprotocols and functions of the platform may, for example, be prepared tobe autonomously and smoothly configured and adapted to the requirementsand features of different environments characterized by different levelsof mobility and density of things (or objects), the number/types ofaccess to those things. For example, various aspects of the platform maygather context parameters that can influence any or all decisions. Suchparameters may, for example, be derived locally, gathered from aneighborhood, Fixed APs, the Cloud, etc. Various aspects of the platformmay also, for example, ask for historical information to feed any of thedecisions, where such information can be derived from historical data,from surveys, from simulators, etc. Various aspects of the platform mayadditionally, for example, probe or monitor decisions made throughoutthe network, for example to evaluate the network and/or the decisionsthemselves in real-time. Various aspects of the platform may further,for example, enforce the decisions in the network (e.g., afterevaluating the probing results). Various aspects of the platform may,for example, establish thresholds to avoid any decision that is to beconstantly or repeatedly performed without any significant advantage(e.g., technology change, certificate change, IP change, etc.). Variousaspects of the platform may also, for example, learn locally (e.g., withthe decisions performed) and dynamically update the decisions.

In addition to (or instead of) failure robustness, a platform mayutilize multiple connections (or pathways) that exist between distinctsub-systems or elements within the same sub-system, to increase therobustness and/or load-balancing of the system.

The following discussion will present examples of the functionalityperformed by various example subsystems of the communication network. Itshould be understood that the example functionality discussed hereinneed not be performed by the particular example subsystem or by a singlesubsystem. For example, the subsystems present herein may interact witheach other, and data or control services may be deployed either in acentralized way, or having their functionalities distributed among thedifferent subsystems, for example leveraging the cooperation between theelements of each subsystem.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide a communicationnetwork (e.g., a city-wide vehicular network, a shipping port-sizedvehicular network, a campus-wide vehicular network, etc.) that utilizesvehicles (e.g., automobiles, buses, trucks, boats, forklifts, etc.) asWi-Fi hotspots. Note that Wi-Fi is generally used throughout thisdiscussion as an example, but the scope of various aspects of thisdisclosure is not limited thereto. For example, other wireless LANtechnologies, PAN technologies, MAN technologies, etc., may be utilized.Such utilization may, for example, provide cost-effective ways to gathersubstantial amounts of urban data, and provide for the efficientoffloading of traffic from congested cellular networks (or othernetworks). In controlled areas (e.g., ports, harbors, etc.) with manyvehicles, a communication network in accordance with various aspects ofthis disclosure may expand the wireless coverage of existing enterpriseWi-Fi networks, for example providing for real-time communication withvehicle drivers (e.g., human, computer-controlled, etc.) and othermobile employees without the need for SIM cards or cellular (or othernetwork) data plans.

Vehicles may have many advantageous characteristics that make themuseful as Wi-Fi (or general wireless) hotspots. For example, vehiclesgenerally have at least one battery, vehicles are generally denselyspread over the city at street level and/or they are able to establishmany contacts with each other in a controlled space, and vehicles cancommunicate with 10× the range of normal Wi-Fi in the 5.9 GHz frequencyband, reserved for intelligent transportation systems in the EU, theU.S., and elsewhere. Note that the scope of this disclosure is notlimited to such 5.9 GHz wireless communication. Further, vehicles areable to effectively expand their coverage area into a swath over aperiod of time, enabling a single vehicle access point to interact withsubstantially more data sources over the period of time.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, anaffordable multi-network on-board unit (OBU) is presented. Note that theOBU may also be referred to herein as a Mobile Access Point, Mobile AP,MAP, etc. The OBU may, for example, comprise a plurality of networkinginterfaces (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, 4G, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUmay, for example, be readily installed in or on private and/or publicvehicles (e.g., individual user vehicles, vehicles of private fleets,vehicles of public fleets, etc.). The OBU may, for example, be installedin transportation fleets, waste management fleets, law enforcementfleets, emergency services, road maintenance fleets, taxi fleets,aircraft fleets, etc. The OBU may, for example, be installed in or on avehicle or other structure with free mobility or relatively limitedmobility. The OBU may also, for example, be carried by a person orservice animal, mounted to a bicycle, mounted to a moving machine ingeneral, mounted to a container, etc.

The OBUs may, for example, operate to connect passing vehicles to thewired infrastructure of one or more network providers, telecomoperators, etc. In accordance with the architecture, hardware, andsoftware functionality discussed herein, vehicles and fleets can beconnected not just to the cellular networks (or other wide area ormetropolitan area networks, etc.) and existing Wi-Fi hotspots spreadover a city or a controlled space, but also to other vehicles (e.g.,utilizing multi-hop communications to a wired infrastructure, single ormulti-hop peer-to-peer vehicle communication, etc.). The vehicles and/orfleets may, for example, form an overall mesh of communication links,for example including the OBUs and also fixed Access Points (APs)connected to the wired infrastructure (e.g., a local infrastructure,etc.). Note that OBUs herein may also be referred to as “Mobile APs,”“mobile hotspots,” “MAPs,” etc. Also note that Fixed Access Points mayalso be referred to herein as Road Side Units (RSUs), Fixed APs, FAPs,etc.

In an example implementation, the OBUs may communicate with the FixedAPs utilizing a relatively long-range protocol (e.g., 802.11p, etc.),and the Fixed APs may, in turn, be hard wired to the wiredinfrastructure (e.g., via cable, tethered optical link, etc.). Note thatFixed APs may also, or alternatively, be coupled to the infrastructurevia wireless link (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). Additionally, clients or userdevices may communicate with the OBUs using one or more relativelyshort-range protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, etc.). The OBUs, forexample having a longer effective wireless communication range thantypical Wi-Fi access points or other wireless LAN/PAN access points(e.g., at least for links such as those based on 802.11p, etc.), arecapable of substantially greater coverage areas than typical Wi-Fi orother wireless LAN/PAN access points, and thus fewer OBUs are necessaryto provide blanket coverage over a geographical area.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a robust vehicular networking module(e.g., a connection manager) which builds on long-range communicationprotocol capability (e.g., 802.11p, etc.). For example, in addition tocomprising 802.11p (or other long-range protocol) capability tocommunicate with Fixed APs, vehicles, and other nodes in the network,the OBU may comprise a network interface (e.g., 802.11a/b/g/n, 802.11ac,802.11af, any combination thereof, etc.) to provide wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) connectivity to end user devices, sensors, fixed Wi-Fiaccess points, etc. For example, the OBU may operate to providein-vehicle Wi-Fi Internet access to users in and/or around the vehicle(e.g., a bus, train car, taxi cab, public works vehicle, etc.). The OBUmay further comprise one or more wireless backbone communicationinterfaces (e.g., cellular network interfaces, etc.). Though in variousexample scenarios, a cellular network interface (or other wirelessbackbone communication interface) might not be the preferred interfacefor various reasons (e.g., cost, power, bandwidth, etc.), the cellularnetwork interface may be utilized to provide connectivity ingeographical areas that are not presently supported by a Fixed AP, maybe utilized to provide a fail-over communication link, may be utilizedfor emergency communications, may be utilized to subscribe to localinfrastructure access, etc. The cellular network interface may also, forexample, be utilized to allow the deployment of solutions that aredependent on the cellular network operators.

An OBU, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure,may for example comprise a smart connection manager that can select thebest available wireless link(s) (e.g., Wi-Fi, 802.11p, cellular, vehiclemesh, etc.) with which to access the Internet. The OBU may also, forexample, provide geo-location capabilities (e.g., GPS, etc.), motiondetection sensors to determine if the vehicle is in motion, and a powercontrol subsystem (e.g., to ensure that the OBU does not deplete thevehicle battery, etc.). The OBU may, for example, comprise any or all ofthe sensors (e.g., environmental sensors, etc.) discussed herein.

The OBU may also, for example, comprise a manager that managesmachine-to-machine data acquisition and transfer (e.g., in a real-timeor delay-tolerant fashion) to and from the cloud. For example, the OBUmay log and/or communicate information of the vehicles.

The OBU may, for example, comprise a connection and/or routing managerthat operates to perform routing of communications in avehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure multi-hop communication. Amobility manager (or controller, MC) may, for example, ensure thatcommunication sessions persist over one or more handoff(s) (alsoreferred to herein as a “handover” or “handovers”) (e.g., betweendifferent Mobile APs, Fixed APs, base stations, hot spots, etc.), amongdifferent technologies (e.g., 802.11p, cellular, Wi-Fi, satellite,etc.), among different MCs (e.g., in a fail-over scenario, loadredistribution scenario, etc.), across different interfaces (or ports),etc. Note that the MC may also be referred to herein as a Local MobilityAnchor (LMA), a Network Controller, etc. Note that the MC, or aplurality thereof, may for example be implemented as part of thebackbone, but may also, or alternatively, be implemented as part of anyof a variety of components or combinations thereof. For example, the MCmay be implemented in a Fixed AP (or distributed system thereof), aspart of an OBU (or a distributed system thereof), etc. Variousnon-limiting examples of system components and/or methods are providedin U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/222,098, filed Sep. 22, 2015, andtitled “Systems and Method for Managing Mobility in a Network of MovingThings,” the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference. Note that in an example implementation including a pluralityof MCs, such MCs may be co-located and/or may be geographicallydistributed.

Various aspects of the present disclosure also provide a cloud-basedservice-oriented architecture that handles the real-time management,monitoring and reporting of the network and clients, the functionalitiesrequired for data storage, processing and management, the Wi-Fi clientauthentication and Captive Portal display, etc.

A communication network (or component thereof) in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure may, for example, support awide range of smart city applications (or controlled scenarios, orconnected scenarios, etc.) and/or use-cases, as described herein.

For example, an example implementation may operate to turn each vehicle(e.g., both public and private taxis, buses, trucks, etc.) into a MobileAP (e.g., a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot), offering Internet access toemployees, passengers and mobile users travelling in the city, waitingin bus stops, sitting in parks, etc. Moreover, through an examplevehicular mesh network formed between vehicles and/or fleets ofvehicles, an implementation may be operable to offload cellular trafficthrough the mobile Wi-Fi hotspots and/or Fixed APs (e.g., 802.11p-basedAPs) spread over the city and connected to the wired infrastructure ofpublic or private telecom operators in strategic places, while ensuringthe widest possible coverage at the lowest possible cost.

An example implementation (e.g., of a communication network and/orcomponents thereof) may, for example, be operable as a massive urbanscanner that gathers large amounts of data (e.g., continuously)on-the-move, actionable or not, generated by a myriad of sourcesspanning from the in-vehicle sensors or On Board Diagnostic System port(e.g., OBD2, etc.), external Wi-Fi/Bluetooth-enabled sensing unitsspread over the city, devices of vehicles' drivers and passengers (e.g.,information characterizing such devices and/or passengers, etc.),positioning system devices (e.g., position information, velocityinformation, trajectory information, travel history information, etc.),etc.

Depending on the use case, the OBU may for example process (or computer,transform, manipulate, aggregate, summarize, etc.) the data beforesending the data from the vehicle, for example providing the appropriategranularity (e.g., value resolution) and sampling rates (e.g., temporalresolution) for each individual application. For example, the OBU may,for example, process the data in any manner deemed advantageous by thesystem. The OBU may, for example, send the collected data (e.g., rawdata, preprocessed data, information of metrics calculated based on thecollected data, etc.) to the Cloud (e.g., to one or more networkedservers coupled to any portion of the network) in an efficient andreliable manner to improve the efficiency, environmental impact andsocial value of municipal city operations and transportation services.Various example use cases are described herein.

In an example scenario in which public buses are moving along cityroutes and/or taxis are performing their private transportationservices, the OBU is able to collect large quantities of real-time datafrom the positioning systems (e.g., GPS, etc.), from accelerometermodules, etc. The OBU may then, for example, communicate such data tothe Cloud, where the data may be processed, reported and viewed, forexample to support such public or private bus and/or taxi operations,for example supporting efficient remote monitoring and scheduling ofbuses and taxis, respectively.

In an example implementation, small cameras (or other sensors) may becoupled to small single-board computers (SBCs) that are placed above thedoors of public buses to allow capturing image sequences of peopleentering and leaving buses, and/or on stops along the bus routes inorder to estimate the number of people waiting for a bus. Such data maybe gathered by the OBU in order to be sent to the Cloud. With such data,public transportation systems may detect peaks; overcrowded buses,routes and stops; underutilized buses, routes and stops; etc., enablingaction to be taken in real-time (e.g., reducing bus periodicity todecrease fuel costs and CO₂ emissions where and when passenger flows aresmaller, etc.) as well as detecting systematic transportation problems.

An OBU may, for example, be operable to communicate with any of avariety of Wi-Fi-enabled sensor devices equipped with a heterogeneouscollection of environmental sensors. Such sensors may, for example,comprise noise sensors (microphones, etc.), gas sensors (e.g., sensingCO, NO₂, O₃, volatile organic compounds (or VOCs), CO₂, etc.), smokesensors, pollution sensors, meteorological sensors (e.g., sensingtemperature, humidity, luminosity, particles, solar radiation, windspeed (e.g., anemometer), wind direction, rain (e.g., a pluviometer),optical scanners, biometric scanners, cameras, microphones, etc.). Suchsensors may also comprise sensors associated with users (e.g., vehicleoperators or passengers, passersby, etc.) and/or their personal devices(e.g., smart phones or watches, biometrics sensors, wearable sensors,implanted sensors, etc.). Such sensors may, for example, comprisesensors and/or systems associated with on-board diagnostic (OBD) unitsfor vehicles. Such sensors may, for example, comprise positioningsensors (e.g., GPS sensors, Galileo sensors, GLONASS sensors, etc.).Such sensors may, for example, comprise container sensors (e.g., garbagecan sensors, shipping container sensors, container environmentalsensors, container tracking sensors, etc.).

Once a vehicle enters the vicinity of such a sensor device, a wirelesslink may be established, so that the vehicle (or OBU thereof) cancollect sensor data from the sensor device and upload the collected datato a database in the Cloud. The appropriate action can then be taken. Inan example waste management implementation, several waste management (orcollection) trucks may be equipped with OBUs that are able toperiodically communicate with sensors installed on containers in orderto gather information about waste level, time passed since lastcollection, etc. Such information may then sent to the Cloud (e.g., to awaste management application coupled to the Internet, etc.) through thevehicular mesh network, in order to improve the scheduling and/orrouting of waste management trucks. Note that various sensors may alwaysbe in range of the Mobile AP (e.g., vehicle-mounted sensors). Note thatthe sensor may also (or alternatively) be mobile (e.g., a sensor mountedto another vehicle passing by a Mobile AP or Fixed AP, a drone-mountedsensor, a pedestrian-mounted sensor, etc.).

In an example implementation, for example in a controlled space (e.g., aport, harbor, airport, factory, plantation, mine, etc.) with manyvehicles, machines and employees, a communication network in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may expand the wirelesscoverage of enterprise and/or local Wi-Fi networks, for example withoutresorting to a Telco-dependent solution based on SIM cards or cellularfees. In such an example scenario, apart from avoiding expensivecellular data plans, limited data rate and poor cellular coverage insome places, a communication network in accordance with various aspectsof the present disclosure is also able to collect and/or communicatelarge amounts of data, in a reliable and real-time manner, where suchdata may be used to optimize harbor logistics, transportationoperations, etc.

For example in a port and/or harbor implementation, by gatheringreal-time information on the position, speed, fuel consumption and CO₂emissions of the vehicles, the communication network allows a portoperator to improve the coordination of the ship loading processes andincrease the throughput of the harbor. Also for example, thecommunication network enables remote monitoring of drivers' behaviors,trucks' positions and engines' status, and then be able to providereal-time notifications to drivers (e.g., to turn on/off the engine,follow the right route inside the harbor, take a break, etc.), thusreducing the number and duration of the harbor services and trips.Harbor authorities may, for example, quickly detect malfunctioningtrucks and abnormal trucks' circulation, thus avoiding accidents inorder to increase harbor efficiency, security, and safety. Additionally,the vehicles can also connect to Wi-Fi access points from harbor localoperators, and provide Wi-Fi Internet access to vehicles' occupants andsurrounding harbor employees, for example allowing pilots to save timeby filing reports via the Internet while still on the water.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a communication network 100, inaccordance with various aspects of this disclosure. Any or all of thefunctionality discussed herein may be performed by any or all of theexample components of the example network 100. Also, the example network100 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample networks and/or network components 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600,700, 800, 900, 1100 and 1200, discussed herein.

The example network 100, for example, comprises a Cloud that may, forexample comprise any of a variety of network level components. The Cloudmay, for example, comprise any of a variety of server systems executingapplications that monitor and/or control components of the network 100.Such applications may also, for example, manage the collection ofinformation from any of a large array of networked information sources,many examples of which are discussed herein. The Cloud (or a portionthereof) may also be referred to, at times, as an API. For example,Cloud (or a portion thereof) may provide one or more applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) which other devices may use forcommunicating/interacting with the Cloud.

An example component of the Cloud may, for example, manageinteroperability with various multi-cloud systems and architectures.Another example component (e.g., a Cloud service component) may, forexample, provide various cloud services (e.g., captive portal services,authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services, APIGateway services, etc.). An additional example component (e.g., aDevCenter component) may, for example, provide network monitoring and/ormanagement functionality, manage the implementation of software updates,etc. A further example component of the Cloud may manage data storage,data analytics, data access, etc. A still further example component ofthe Cloud may include any of a variety of third-partly applications andservices.

The Cloud may, for example, be coupled to the Backbone/CoreInfrastructure of the example network 100 via the Internet (e.g.,utilizing one or more Internet Service Providers). Though the Internetis provided by example, it should be understood that scope of thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto.

The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise any one or more differentcommunication infrastructure components. For example, one or moreproviders may provide backbone networks or various components thereof.As shown in the example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, a Backboneprovider may provide wireline access (e.g., PSTN, fiber, cable, etc.).Also for example, a Backbone provider may provide wireless access (e.g.,Microwave, LTE/Cellular, 5G/TV Spectrum, etc.).

The Backbone/Core may also, for example, comprise one or more LocalInfrastructure Providers. The Backbone/Core may also, for example,comprise a private infrastructure (e.g., run by the network 100implementer, owner, etc.). The Backbone/Core may, for example, provideany of a variety of Backbone Services (e.g., AAA, Mobility, Monitoring,Addressing, Routing, Content services, Gateway Control services, etc.).

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may comprise any of a variety ofcharacteristics, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, the Backbone/Core may be compatible with different wireless orwired technologies for backbone access. The Backbone/Core may also beadaptable to handle public (e.g., municipal, city, campus, etc.) and/orprivate (e.g., ports, campus, etc.) network infrastructures owned bydifferent local providers, and/or owned by the network implementer orstakeholder. The Backbone/Core may, for example, comprise and/orinterface with different Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting(AAA) mechanisms.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, support differentmodes of operation (e.g., L2 in port implementations, L3 in on-landpublic transportation implementations, utilizing any one or more of aplurality of different layers of digital IP networking, any combinationsthereof, equivalents thereof, etc.) or addressing pools. TheBackbone/Core may also for example, be agnostic to the Cloud provider(s)and/or Internet Service Provider(s). Additionally for example, theBackbone/Core may be agnostic to requests coming from any or allsubsystems of the network 100 (e.g., Mobile APs or OBUs (On BoardUnits), Fixed APs or RSUs (Road Side Units), MCs (Mobility Controllers)or LMAs (Local Mobility Anchors) or Network Controllers, etc.) and/orthird-party systems.

The Backbone/Core Infrastructure may, for example, comprise the abilityto utilize and/or interface with different data storage/processingsystems (e.g., MongoDB, MySql, Redis, etc.). The Backbone/CoreInfrastructure may further, for example, provide different levels ofsimultaneous access to the infrastructure, services, data, etc.

The example network 100 may also, for example, comprise a Fixed HotspotAccess Network. Various example characteristics of such a Fixed HotspotAccess Network 200 are shown at FIG. 2. The example network 200 may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the other examplenetworks and/or network components 100, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700,800, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200, discussed herein.

In the example network 200, the Fixed APs (e.g., the proprietary APs,the public third party APs, the private third party APs, etc.) may bedirectly connected to the local infrastructure provider and/or to thewireline/wireless backbone. Also for example, the example network 200may comprise a mesh between the various APs via wireless technologies.Note, however, that various wired technologies may also be utilizeddepending on the implementation. As shown, different fixed hotspotaccess networks can be connected to a same backbone provider, but mayalso be connected to different respective backbone providers. In anexample implementation utilizing wireless technology for backboneaccess, such an implementation may be relatively fault tolerant. Forexample, a Fixed AP may utilize wireless communications to the backbonenetwork (e.g., cellular, 3G, LTE, other wide or metropolitan areanetworks, etc.) if the backhaul infrastructure is down. Also forexample, such an implementation may provide for relatively easyinstallation (e.g., a Fixed AP with no cable power source that can beplaced virtually anywhere).

In the example network 200, the same Fixed AP can simultaneously provideaccess to multiple Fixed APs, Mobile APs (e.g., vehicle OBUs, etc.),devices, user devices, sensors, things, etc. For example, a plurality ofmobile hotspot access networks (e.g., OBU-based networks, etc.) mayutilize the same Fixed AP. Also for example, the same Fixed AP canprovide a plurality of simultaneous accesses to another single unit(e.g., another Fixed AP, Mobile AP, device, etc.), for example utilizingdifferent channels, different radios, etc.).

Note that a plurality of Fixed APs may be utilized forfault-tolerance/fail-recovery purposes. In an example implementation, aFixed AP and its fail-over AP may both be normally operational (e.g., ina same switch). Also for example, one or more Fixed APs may be placed inthe network at various locations in an inactive or monitoring mode, andready to become operational when needed (e.g., in response to a fault,in response to an emergency services need, in response to a data surge,etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Fixed Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. Also, the example Fixed Hotspot AccessNetwork is shown with a wired communication link to one or more BackboneProviders, to the Mobile Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevices, and to the Environment. The Environment may comprise any of avariety of devices (e.g., in-vehicle networks, devices, and sensors;autonomous vehicle networks, devices, and sensors; maritime (orwatercraft) and port networks, devices, and sensors; generalcontrolled-space networks, devices, and sensors; residential networks,devices, and sensors; disaster recovery & emergency networks, devices,and sensors; military and aircraft networks, devices, and sensors; smartcity networks, devices, and sensors; event (or venue) networks, devices,and sensors; underwater and underground networks, devices, and sensors;agricultural networks, devices, and sensors; tunnel (auto, subway,train, etc.) networks, devices, and sensors; parking networks, devices,and sensors; security and surveillance networks, devices, and sensors;shipping equipment and container networks, devices, and sensors;environmental control or monitoring networks, devices, and sensors;municipal networks, devices, and sensors; waste management networks,devices, and sensors, road maintenance networks, devices, and sensors,traffic management networks, devices, and sensors; advertising networks,devices and sensors; etc.).

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork. Various example characteristics of such a Mobile Hotspot AccessNetwork 300 are shown at FIG. 3. Note that various fixed networkcomponents (e.g., Fixed APs) are also illustrated. The example network300 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with the otherexample networks and/or network components 100, 200, 400, 500-570, 600,700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200, discussed herein.

The example network 300 comprises a wide variety of Mobile APs (orhotspots) that provide access to user devices, provide for sensor datacollection, provide multi-hop connectivity to other Mobile APs, etc. Forexample, the example network 300 comprises vehicles from differentfleets (e.g., aerial, terrestrial, underground, (under)water, etc.). Forexample, the example network 300 comprises one or more massdistribution/transportation fleets, one or more mass passengertransportation fleets, private/public shared-user fleets, privatevehicles, urban and municipal fleets, maintenance fleets, drones,watercraft (e.g., boats, ships, speedboats, tugboats, barges, etc.),emergency fleets (e.g., police, ambulance, firefighter, etc.), etc.

The example network 300, for example, shows vehicles from differentfleets directly connected and/or mesh connected, for example using sameor different communication technologies. The example network 300 alsoshows fleets simultaneously connected to different Fixed APs, which mayor may not belong to different respective local infrastructureproviders. As a fault-tolerance mechanism, the example network 300 mayfor example comprise the utilization of long-range wirelesscommunication network (e.g., cellular, 3G, 4G, LTE, etc.) in vehicles ifthe local network infrastructure is down or otherwise unavailable. Asame vehicle (e.g., Mobile AP or OBU) can simultaneously provide accessto multiple vehicles, devices, things, etc., for example using a samecommunication technology (e.g., shared channels and/or differentrespective channels thereof) and/or using a different respectivecommunication technology for each. Also for example, a same vehicle canprovide multiple accesses to another vehicle, device, thing, etc., forexample using a same communication technology (e.g., shared channelsand/or different respective channels thereof, and/or using a differentcommunication technology).

Additionally, multiple network elements may be connected together toprovide for fault-tolerance or fail recovery, increased throughput, orto achieve any or a variety of a client's networking needs, many ofexamples of which are provided herein. For example, two Mobile APs (orOBUs) may be installed in a same vehicle, etc.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example Mobile Hotspot Access Network isshown with a wireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g.,to one or more Backbone Providers and/or Local InfrastructureProviders), to a Fixed Hotspot Access Network, to one or more End UserDevice, and to the Environment (e.g., to any one of more of the sensorsor systems discussed herein, any other device or machine, etc.). Thoughthe Mobile Hotspot Access Network is not shown having a wired link tothe various other components, there may (at least at times) be such awired link, at least temporarily.

The example network 100 of FIG. 1 also comprises a set of End-UserDevices. Various example end user devices are shown at FIG. 4. Note thatvarious other network components (e.g., Fixed Hotspot Access Networks,Mobile Hotspot Access Network(s), the Backbone/Core, etc.) are alsoillustrated. The example network 400 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, and1200, discussed herein.

The example network 400 shows various mobile networked devices. Suchnetwork devices may comprise end-user devices (e.g., smartphones,tablets, smartwatches, laptop computers, webcams, personal gamingdevices, personal navigation devices, personal media devices, personalcameras, health-monitoring devices, personal location devices,monitoring panels, printers, etc.). Such networked devices may alsocomprise any of a variety of devices operating in the generalenvironment, where such devices might not for example be associated witha particular user (e.g. any or all of the sensor devices discussedherein, vehicle sensors, municipal sensors, fleet sensors road sensors,environmental sensors, security sensors, traffic sensors, waste sensors,meteorological sensors, any of a variety of different types of municipalor enterprise equipment, etc.). Any of such networked devices can beflexibly connected to distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,mobile hotspot access networks, etc., using the same or differentwired/wireless technologies.

A mobile device may, for example, operate as an AP to providesimultaneous access to multiple devices/things, which may then form adhoc networks, interconnecting devices ultimately connected to distinctbackbone networks, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks.Devices (e.g., any or all of the devices or network nodes discussedherein) may, for example, have redundant technologies to access distinctbackbone, fixed hotspot, and/or mobile hotspot access networks, forexample for fault-tolerance and/or load-balancing purposes (e.g.,utilizing multiple SIM cards, etc.). A device may also, for example,simultaneously access distinct backbone, fixed hotspot access networks,and/or mobile hotspot access networks, belonging to the same provider orto different respective providers. Additionally for example, a devicecan provide multiple accesses to another device/thing (e.g., viadifferent channels, radios, etc.).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the example End-User Devices are shown with awireless communication link to a backbone provider (e.g., to one or moreBackbone Providers and/or Local Infrastructure Providers), to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment. Also for example, the example End-User Devices are shownwith a wired communication link to a backbone provider, to a FixedHotspot Access Network, to a Mobile Hotspot Access Network, and to theEnvironment.

The example network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 has a flexiblearchitecture that is adaptable at implementation time (e.g., fordifferent use cases) and/or adaptable in real-time, for example asnetwork components enter and leave service. FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate suchflexibility by providing example modes (or configurations). The examplenetworks 500-570 may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe other example networks and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400,600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200, discussed herein. For exampleand without limitation, any or all of the communication links (e.g.,wired links, wireless links, etc.) shown in the example networks 500-570are generally analogous to similarly positioned communication linksshown in the example network 100 of FIG. 1.

For example, various aspects of this disclosure provide communicationnetwork architectures, systems, and methods for supporting a dynamicallyconfigurable communication network comprising a complex array of bothstatic and moving communication nodes (e.g., the Internet of movingthings). For example, a communication network implemented in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure may operate in one of aplurality of modalities comprising various fixed nodes, mobile nodes,and/or a combination thereof, which are selectable to yield any of avariety of system goals (e.g., increased throughput, reduced latency andpacket loss, increased availability and robustness of the system, extraredundancy, increased responsiveness, increased security in thetransmission of data and/or control packets, reduced number ofconfiguration changes by incorporating smart thresholds (e.g., change oftechnology, change of certificate, change of IP, etc.), providingconnectivity in dead zones or zones with difficult access, reducing thecosts for maintenance and accessing the equipment forupdating/upgrading, etc.). At least some of such modalities may, forexample, be entirely comprised of fixed-position nodes, at leasttemporarily if not permanently.

For illustrative simplicity, many of the example aspects shown in theexample system or network 100 of FIG. 1 (and other Figures herein) areomitted from FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present. For example, the Cloud,Internet, and ISP aspects shown in FIG. 1 and in other Figures are notexplicitly shown in FIGS. 5A-5C, but may be present in any of theexample configurations (e.g., as part of the backbone provider networkor coupled thereto, as part of the local infrastructure provider networkor coupled thereto, etc.).

For example, the first example mode 500 is presented as a normalexecution mode, for example a mode (or configuration) in which all ofthe components discussed herein are present. For example, thecommunication system in the first example mode 500 comprises a backboneprovider network, a local infrastructure provider network, a fixedhotspot access network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-userdevices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via a wired link. Note that such a wiredcoupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Also note that in various example configurations,the backbone provider network may also be communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network via one or more wireless (ornon-tethered) links.

Though not shown in the first example mode 500 (or any of the examplemodes of FIGS. 5A-5C), one or more servers may be communicativelycoupled to the backbone provider network and/or the local infrastructurenetwork. FIG. 1 provides an example of cloud servers beingcommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network via theInternet.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the first example mode 500(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the first example mode 500 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof),the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Note that the communication link shown in the firstexample mode 500 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructure providernetwork and the fixed hotspot access network may be wired and/orwireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network,the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network is further shownin the first example mode 500 to be communicatively coupled to theend-user devices and/or environment devices via one or more wirelesslinks. Many examples of such wireless coupling are provided herein.Further, the end-user devices are also shown in the first example mode500 to be communicatively coupled to the environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Note that in various example implementations any ofsuch wireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g.,a computer system) via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixedhotspot access network, the local infrastructure provider network,and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seen in the variousexample modes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occurbetween an end-user device and a server via any of a variety ofdifferent communication pathways, for example depending on theavailability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the first example mode 500 (e.g., the normal mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an environment deviceand a server via the mobile hotspot access network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, the local infrastructure provider network, and/or thebackbone provider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network and/or backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network, thelocal infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network). Also forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g.,skipping the mobile hotspot access network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network).

As discussed herein, the example networks presented herein areadaptively configurable to operate in any of a variety of differentmodes (or configurations). Such adaptive configuration may occur atinitial installation and/or during subsequent controlled networkevolution (e.g., adding or removing any or all of the network componentsdiscussed herein, expanding or removing network capacity, adding orremoving coverage areas, adding or removing services, etc.). Suchadaptive configuration may also occur in real-time, for example inresponse to real-time changes in network conditions (e.g., networks orcomponents thereof being available or not based on vehicle oruser-device movement, network or component failure, network or componentreplacement or augmentation activity, network overloading, etc.). Thefollowing example modes are presented to illustrate characteristics ofvarious modes in which a communication system may operate in accordancewith various aspects of the present disclosure. The following examplemodes will generally be discussed in relation to the first example mode500 (e.g., the normal execution mode). Note that such example modes aremerely illustrative and not limiting.

The second example mode (or configuration) 510 (e.g., a no backboneavailable mode) may, for example, share any or all characteristics withthe first example mode 500, albeit without the backbone provider networkand communication links therewith. For example, the communication systemin the second example mode 510 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, a mobile hotspot accessnetwork, end-user devices, and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the second example mode 510 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note thatin various example configurations, the local infrastructure providernetwork may also, at least temporarily, be communicatively coupled tothe mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof) via one ormore wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the second example mode 510 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Note that the communication link(s) shown in thesecond example mode 510 of FIG. 5A between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the second examplemode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Additionally, the mobile hotspot access network isfurther shown in the second example mode 510 to be communicativelycoupled to the end-user devices and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling areprovided herein. Further, the end-user devices are also shown in thesecond example mode 510 to be communicatively coupled to the environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Note that in various exampleimplementations any of such wireless links may instead (or in addition)comprise a wired (or tethered) link.

In the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backbone available mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a computer, etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user deviceand a server via any of a variety of different communication pathways,for example depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the fixed hotspot access network and/or the local infrastructureprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network).Also for example, information communicated between an end user deviceand a server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or fixedhotspot access network).

Similarly, in the second example mode 510 (e.g., the no backboneavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the fixed hotspot access network, and/or the local infrastructureprovider network. Also for example, an environment device maycommunicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of or inaddition to the mobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in thevarious example modes presented herein, such communication may flexiblyoccur between an environment device and a server (e.g., communicativelycoupled to the local infrastructure provider network) via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the fixed hotspot access network and/orthe local infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thelocal infrastructure provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network and/or fixed hotspot access network).

The second example mode 510 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. Forexample, due to security and/or privacy goals, the second example mode510 may be utilized so that communication access to the public Cloudsystems, the Internet in general, etc., is not allowed. For example, allnetwork control and management functions may be within the localinfrastructure provider network (e.g., wired local network, etc.) and/orthe Fixed Access Point network.

In an example implementation, the communication system might be totallyowned, operated and/or controlled by a local port authority. No extraexpenses associated with cellular connections need be spent. Forexample, cellular connection capability (e.g., in Mobile APs, Fixed APs,end user devices, environment devices, etc.) need not be provided. Notealso that the second example mode 510 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich the backbone provider network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to server failure, due to communicationlink failure, due to power outage, due to a temporary denial of service,etc.).

The third example mode (or configuration) 520 (e.g., a no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, the fixed hotspotaccess network, and communication links therewith. For example, thecommunication system in the third example mode 520 comprises a backboneprovider network, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5A, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the third example mode 520 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the third examplemode 520 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the third example mode 520 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein. Note that in various example implementations any of suchwireless links may instead (or in addition) comprise a wired (ortethered) link.

In the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no local infrastructure andfixed hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server (e.g., a computer,etc.) via the mobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone providernetwork. As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein,such communication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and aserver via any of a variety of different communication pathways, forexample depending on the availability of a network, depending onbandwidth utilization goals, depending on communication priority,depending on communication time (or latency) and/or reliabilityconstraints, depending on cost, etc. For example, informationcommunicated between an end user device and a server may be communicatedvia the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network).

Similarly, in the third example mode 520 (e.g., the no localinfrastructure and fixed hotspots available mode), information (or data)may be communicated between an environment device and a server via themobile hotspot access network and/or the backbone provider network. Alsofor example, an environment device may communicate with or through anend-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobile hotspotaccess network). As will be seen in the various example modes presentedherein, such communication may flexibly occur between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to the backboneprovider network) via any of a variety of different communicationpathways, for example depending on the availability of a network,depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending on communicationpriority, depending on communication time (or latency) and/orreliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping themobile hotspot access network).

In the third example mode 520, all control/management functions may forexample be implemented within the Cloud. For example, since the mobilehotspot access network does not have a communication link via a fixedhotspot access network, the Mobile APs may utilize a direct connection(e.g., a cellular connection) with the backbone provider network (orCloud). If a Mobile AP does not have such capability, the Mobile AP mayalso, for example, utilize data access provided by the end-user devicescommunicatively coupled thereto (e.g., leveraging the data plans of theend-user devices).

The third example mode 520 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the third example mode 520 may be utilized in anearly stage of a larger deployment, for example deployment that willgrow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, example fourthmode 530, etc.) as more communication system equipment is installed.Note also that the third example mode 520 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the local infrastructure provider network and fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fourth example mode (or configuration) 530 (e.g., a no fixedhotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thefixed hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fourth example mode 530comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), the end-userdevices, and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Notethat such a wired coupling may be temporary. Also note that in variousexample configurations, the backbone provider network may also, at leasttemporarily, be communicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot accessnetwork (or any component thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered)links.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fourth example mode 530(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may betemporary. Also note that in various example configurations, the localinfrastructure provider network may also, at least temporarily, becommunicatively coupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof) via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fourth example mode 530 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), the mobile hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wireless links.

The mobile hotspot access network is further shown in the fourth examplemode 530 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fourth example mode 530 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspots mode),information (or data) may be communicated between an end-user device anda server via the mobile hotspot access network, the local infrastructureprovider network, and/or the backbone provider network. As will be seenin the various example modes presented herein, such communication mayflexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider networkand/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspotaccess network). Also for example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the backboneprovider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access networkand/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fourth example mode 530 (e.g., the no fixed hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the mobile hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to themobile hotspot access network). As will be seen in the various examplemodes presented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobilehotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the mobile hotspot access network and/or backboneprovider network).

In the fourth example mode 530, in an example implementation, some ofthe control/management functions may for example be implemented withinthe local backbone provider network (e.g., within a client premises).For example, communication to the local infrastructure provider may beperformed through the backbone provider network (or Cloud). Note that ina scenario in which there is a direct communication pathway between thelocal infrastructure provider network and the mobile hotspot accessnetwork, such communication pathway may be utilized.

For example, since the mobile hotspot access network does not have acommunication link via a fixed hotspot access network, the Mobile APsmay utilize a direct connection (e.g., a cellular connection) with thebackbone provider network (or Cloud). If a Mobile AP does not have suchcapability, the Mobile AP may also, for example, utilize data accessprovided by the end-user devices communicatively coupled thereto (e.g.,leveraging the data plans of the end-user devices).

The fourth example mode 530 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the fourth example mode 530 may be utilized inan early stage of a larger deployment, for example a deployment thatwill grow into another mode (e.g., the example first mode 500, etc.) asmore communication system equipment is installed. The fourth examplemode 530 may, for example, be utilized in a scenario in which there isno fiber (or other) connection available for Fixed APs (e.g., in amaritime scenario, in a plantation scenario, etc.), or in which a FixedAP is difficult to access or connect. For example, one or more MobileAPs of the mobile hotspot access network may be used as gateways toreach the Cloud. The fourth example mode 530 may also, for example, beutilized when a vehicle fleet and/or the Mobile APs associated therewithare owned by a first entity and the Fixed APs are owned by anotherentity, and there is no present agreement for communication between theMobile APs and the Fixed APs. Note also that the fourth example mode 530may be utilized in a scenario in which the fixed hotspot access networkis normally available but are currently unavailable (e.g., due toequipment failure, due to communication link failure, due to poweroutage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The fifth example mode (or configuration) 540 (e.g., a no mobilehotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without themobile hotspot access network and communication links therewith. Forexample, the communication system in the fifth example mode 540comprises a backbone provider network, a local infrastructure providernetwork, a fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the localinfrastructure provider network (or any component thereof), fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Also note that in various exampleconfigurations, the backbone provider network may also becommunicatively coupled to the local infrastructure provider network viaone or more wireless (or non-tethered) links.

As additionally shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, thelocal infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled toany or all of the other elements present in the fifth example mode 540(or configuration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. Forexample, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network (or anycomponent thereof), fixed hotspot access network (or any componentthereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices via one ormore wired links. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary. Alsonote that in various example configurations, the local infrastructureprovider network may also, at least temporarily, be communicativelycoupled to the mobile hotspot access network (or any component thereof)via one or more wired (or tethered) links.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the fifth example mode 540 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the backbone provider network, the fixedhotspot access network (or any component thereof), the end-user devices,and/or environment devices via one or more wireless links. Note that thecommunication link(s) shown in the fifth example mode 540 of FIG. 5Bbetween the local infrastructure provider network and the fixed hotspotaccess network may be wired and/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the fifth example mode540 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Further, the end-userdevices are also shown in the fifth example mode 540 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspots availablemode), information (or data) may be communicated between an end-userdevice and a server via the fixed hotspot access network, the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network.As will be seen in the various example modes presented herein, suchcommunication may flexibly occur between an end-user device and a servervia any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc. For example, information communicated between anend user device and a server may be communicated via the localinfrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network). Also for example,information communicated between an end user device and a server may becommunicated via the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network and/or local infrastructure provider network).

Similarly, in the fifth example mode 540 (e.g., the no mobile hotspotsavailable mode), information (or data) may be communicated between anenvironment device and a server via the fixed hotspot access network,the local infrastructure provider network, and/or the backbone providernetwork. Also for example, an environment device may communicate with orthrough an end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the fixedhotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network and/or backbone provider network)via any of a variety of different communication pathways, for exampledepending on the availability of a network, depending on bandwidthutilization goals, depending on communication priority, depending oncommunication time (or latency) and/or reliability constraints,depending on cost, etc.

For example, information communicated between an environment device anda server may be communicated via the local infrastructure providernetwork and/or the backbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixedhotspot access network). Also for example, information communicatedbetween an environment device and a server may be communicated via thebackbone provider network (e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or local infrastructure provider network). Additionally forexample, information communicated between an environment device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network and/or the backboneprovider network).

In the fifth example mode 540, in an example implementation, theend-user devices and environment devices may communicate directly toFixed APs (e.g., utilizing Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.). Also for example, theend-user devices and/or environment devices may communicate directlywith the backbone provider network (e.g., utilizing cellularconnections, etc.).

The fifth example mode 540 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation in which end-user devices and/or environmentdevices may communicate directly with Fixed APs, such communication maybe utilized instead of Mobile AP communication. For example, the fixedhotspot access network might provide coverage for all desired areas.

Note also that the fifth example mode 540 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the fixed hotspot access network is normally available but iscurrently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The sixth example mode (or configuration) 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobilehotspots and local infrastructure available mode) may, for example,share any or all characteristics with the first example mode 500, albeitwithout the local infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, mobile hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the sixth examplemode 550 comprises a backbone provider network, end-user devices, andenvironment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backbone providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration) viaone or more wired (or tethered) links. For example, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to the end-user devicesand/or environment devices via one or more wired links. Note that such awired coupling may be temporary.

Also shown in FIG. 5B, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the backboneprovider network may be communicatively coupled to any or all of theother elements present in the sixth example mode 550 (or configuration)via one or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered opticallink, etc.). For example, the backbone provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links.

The end-user devices are also shown in the sixth example mode 550 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the no fixed/mobile hotspots andlocal infrastructure available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an end-user device and a server via the backboneprovider network. Similarly, in the sixth example mode 550 (e.g., the nofixed/mobile hotspots and local infrastructure mode), information (ordata) may be communicated between an environment device and a server viathe backbone provider network. Also for example, an environment devicemay communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., instead of orin addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The sixth example mode 550 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, for example in which an end-user has not yetsubscribed to the communication system, the end-user device maysubscribe to the system through a Cloud application and by communicatingdirectly with the backbone provider network (e.g., via cellular link,etc.). The sixth example mode 550 may also, for example, be utilized inrural areas in which Mobile AP presence is sparse, Fixed AP installationis difficult or impractical, etc.

Note also that the sixth example mode 550 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the infrastructure provider network, fixed hotspot accessnetwork, and/or mobile hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

The seventh example mode (or configuration) 560 (e.g., the no backboneand mobile hotspots available mode) may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the first example mode 500, albeit without thebackbone provider network, mobile hotspot access network, andcommunication links therewith. For example, the communication system inthe seventh example mode 560 comprises a local infrastructure providernetwork, fixed hotspot access network, end-user devices, and environmentdevices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the localinfrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupled to any orall of the other elements present in the seventh example mode 560 (orconfiguration) via one or more wired (or tethered) links. For example,the local infrastructure provider network may be communicatively coupledto the fixed hotspot access network (or any component thereof), theend-user devices, and/or environment devices via one or more wiredlinks. Note that such a wired coupling may be temporary.

Also, though not explicitly shown, the local infrastructure providernetwork may be communicatively coupled to any or all of the otherelements present in the seventh example mode 560 (or configuration) viaone or more wireless links (e.g., RF link, non-tethered optical link,etc.). For example, the local infrastructure provider network may becommunicatively coupled to the fixed hotspot access network (or anycomponent thereof), the end-user devices, and/or environment devices viaone or more wireless links. Note that the communication link shown inthe seventh example mode 560 of FIG. 5C between the local infrastructureprovider network and the fixed hotspot access network may be wiredand/or wireless.

The fixed hotspot access network is also shown in the seventh examplemode 560 to be communicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/orenvironment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein. Additionally, the end-userdevices are also shown in the seventh example mode 560 to becommunicatively coupled to the environment devices via one or morewireless links. Many examples of such wireless coupling are providedherein.

In the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone and mobilehotspots available mode), information (or data) may be communicatedbetween an end-user device and a server via the fixed hotspot accessnetwork and/or the local infrastructure provider network. As will beseen in the various example modes presented herein, such communicationmay flexibly occur between an end-user device and a server via any of avariety of different communication pathways, for example depending onthe availability of a network, depending on bandwidth utilization goals,depending on communication priority, depending on communication time (orlatency) and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. Forexample, information communicated between an end user device and aserver may be communicated via the local infrastructure provider network(e.g., skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

Similarly, in the seventh example mode 560 (e.g., the no backbone andmobile hotspots available mode), information (or data) may becommunicated between an environment device and a server via the fixedhotspot access network and/or the local infrastructure provider network.Also for example, an environment device may communicate with or throughan end-user device (e.g., instead of or in addition to the mobilehotspot access network). As will be seen in the various example modespresented herein, such communication may flexibly occur between anenvironment device and a server (e.g., communicatively coupled to thelocal infrastructure provider network) via any of a variety of differentcommunication pathways, for example depending on the availability of anetwork, depending on bandwidth utilization goals, depending oncommunication priority, depending on communication time (or latency)and/or reliability constraints, depending on cost, etc. For example,information communicated between an environment device and a server maybe communicated via the local infrastructure provider network (e.g.,skipping the fixed hotspot access network).

The seventh example mode 560 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample controlled space implementation, Cloud access might not beprovided (e.g., for security reasons, privacy reasons, etc.), and full(or sufficient) coverage of the coverage area is provided by the fixedhotspot access network, and thus the mobile hotspot access network isnot needed. For example, the end-user devices and environment devicesmay communicate directly (e.g., via Ethernet, Wi-Fi, etc.) with theFixed APs

Note also that the seventh example mode 560 may be utilized in ascenario in which the backbone provider network and/or fixed hotspotaccess network are normally available but are currently unavailable(e.g., due to equipment failure, due to communication link failure, dueto power outage, due to a temporary denial of service, etc.).

The eighth example mode (or configuration) 570 (e.g., the no backbone,fixed hotspots, and local infrastructure available mode) may, forexample, share any or all characteristics with the first example mode500, albeit without the backbone provider network, local infrastructureprovider network, fixed hotspot access network, and communication linkstherewith. For example, the communication system in the eighth examplemode 570 comprises a mobile hotspot access network, end-user devices,and environment devices.

As shown in FIG. 5C, and in FIG. 1 in more detail, the mobile hotspotaccess network is shown in the eighth example mode 570 to becommunicatively coupled to the end-user devices and/or environmentdevices via one or more wireless links. Many examples of such wirelesscoupling are provided herein. Further, the end-user devices are alsoshown in the eighth example mode 570 to be communicatively coupled tothe environment devices via one or more wireless links. Many examples ofsuch wireless coupling are provided herein.

In the eighth example mode 570 (e.g., the no backbone, fixed hotspots,and local infrastructure available mode), information (or data) mightnot (at least currently) be communicated between an end-user device anda server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network, localinfrastructure provider network, etc.). Similarly, information (or data)might not (at least currently) be communicated between an environmentdevice and a server (e.g., a coupled to the backbone provider network,local infrastructure provider network, etc.). Note that the environmentdevice may communicate with or through an end-user device (e.g., insteadof or in addition to the mobile hotspot access network).

The eighth example mode 570 may be utilized for any of a variety ofreasons, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein. In anexample implementation, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized forgathering and/or serving data (e.g., in a delay-tolerant networkingscenario), providing peer-to-peer communication through the mobilehotspot access network (e.g., between clients of a single Mobile AP,between clients of respective different Mobile APs, etc.), etc. Inanother example scenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized ina scenario in which vehicle-to-vehicle communications are prioritizedabove vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. In yet another examplescenario, the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenario inwhich all infrastructure access is lost (e.g., in tunnels, parkinggarages, etc.).

Note also that the eighth example mode 570 may be utilized in a scenarioin which the backbone provider network, local infrastructure providernetwork, and/or fixed hotspot access network are normally available butare currently unavailable (e.g., due to equipment failure, due tocommunication link failure, due to power outage, due to a temporarydenial of service, etc.).

As shown and discussed herein, it is beneficial to have a genericplatform that allows multi-mode communications of multiple users ormachines within different environments, using multiple devices withmultiple technologies, connected to multiple moving/static things withmultiple technologies, forming wireless (mesh) hotspot networks overdifferent environments, connected to multiple wired/wirelessinfrastructure/network backbone providers, ultimately connected to theInternet, Cloud or private network infrastructure.

FIG. 6 shows yet another block diagram of an example networkconfiguration, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example network 600 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, and1200, discussed herein. Notably, the example network 600 shows aplurality of Mobile APs (or OBUs), each communicatively coupled to aFixed AP (or RSU), where each Mobile AP may provide network access to avehicle network (e.g., comprising other vehicles or vehicle networks,user devices, sensor devices, etc.).

Sensors can economically measure a large variety parameters, for examplefrom environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, barometricpressure, insulation, noise, pollution levels, gas, particles, rain,etc., to the behavior of people and objects. Deploying sensors canhowever be expensive, particularly when they require a fixed connectionto a power source and/or a wired link for communication. The cost ofsensor deployment may, for example, be considerably lower when thesensors are battery or solar powered, use other means of harvestingpower from their environment, and/or when the sensors use wireless linksto communicate the data being collecting.

To efficiently collect data from sensors and transport the collecteddata to the Cloud (e.g., a computing system or server thereof), acommunication network in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure (e.g., a network or Internet of Moving Things) may beutilized as a communication backbone. For example, in an exampleimplementation, a vehicle equipped with a Mobile Access Point (MAP),which may also be referred to herein as an OBU, may communicate with asensor as the vehicle passes nearby. Collected sensor data may then, forexample, be stored, processed, and/or made available to/from the Cloud(e.g., via APIs or other interfaces).

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, systemsand methods are provided that utilize a Mobile Access Point to gather(or harvest) data from sensors. Various aspects provide for wakingsensors from a low-power (or sleep) state utilizing various techniques(e.g., utilizing low power wireless beacons, acoustic beacons,accelerometer signals from on-board sensors, etc.) and quickly returningthe sensors to the low-power state, for example resulting in a low dutycycle for various circuitry of the sensors and thus low powerconsumption.

Various aspects of this disclosure provide for cooperation among APs(e.g., Mobile APs, Fixed AP, etc.) and sensors to optimize the datacollection in various ways (e.g., maximizing throughput, minimizinglatency, maximizing reliability, adjusting the data collectionparameters such as resolution/QoS rules/sample interval, utilizinggeographical information for sensor data collection planning, minimizingunnecessary redundancy in data collecting, etc.). Such data collectionmay, for example, be adjusted dynamically in response to variousconditions (e.g., weather, time-of-day, day-of-year, external events,security issues, emergency conditions, client and/or operatordirectives, etc.).

A communication network, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure, may then transport the collected sensor data to theCloud (e.g., to a computing system or server thereof, etc.) or any othernode in various ways (e.g., utilizing any of a variety of communicationtechnologies or protocols, utilizing any of a variety of pathwaysthrough the network, utilizing delay-tolerant networking, utilizingopportunistic uploads for example via Wi-Fi networks, communicating inaccordance with various QoS rules, etc.).

In an example implementation, each Mobile AP may broadcast itsavailability as the Mobile AP moves around, for example transmitting asignal. Such a signal may, for example, be referred to herein as abeacon signal, a trigger signal, a wake signal, etc. A sensor listeningfor these broadcasts may then communicate with the Mobile AP when it iswithin communication range, exchanging information (e.g., sensed datafrom the sensor, sensor control information to the sensor, sensor statusinformation from the sensor, etc.). Each sensor may, for example, beequipped with a power-save component (e.g., a hardware circuit, alow-power processor circuit executing software instructions stored on anon-transitory medium, etc.) to wake the sensor whenever it may be ableto communicate with a nearby Mobile AP and/or whenever it has data tocommunicate with a nearby Mobile AP.

In an example implementation, an example power-save component maycomprise a low-power RF receiver (e.g., an RF receiver that works on arelatively low frequency (e.g., 900 MHz, etc.), on a frequency outsideof typical Wi-Fi bands or other bands associated with other respectivecommunication protocols being utilized to communicate data, etc.) thatis electrically connected to the higher-power sensor circuitry (e.g.,Wi-Fi communication circuitry, processor circuitry, various sensors,etc.). As a Mobile AP travels, it can send signals (e.g., beaconsignals, wake signals, trigger signals, etc.) on the frequency of the RFreceiver, which when received by the low-power RF receiver, causes thesensor to wake. The sensor circuit (e.g., comprising one or moresensors) may then perform its sensing, if it has not already done so,connect to the Mobile AP (e.g., via a Wi-Fi link or other technology),and communicate the sensor data to the Mobile AP. Note that the sensormay also wake just enough circuitry to make its own determination as towhether the sensor has sensor data to communicate, at which pointadditional circuitry may be awakened to perform such communication.

The Mobile AP (or also a Fixed AP, etc.) may, for example, broadcast thesignal (e.g., beacon signal, trigger signal, wake signal, etc.) togenerally wake or trigger any sensor (or other device) that receives thesignal. Also for example, the Mobile AP may multi-cast the signal, forexample forming the signal comprising characteristics (e.g., a multicastor group address, a code unique to the group of sensors, etc.) that whenreceived by a sensor of a particular group of sensors, cause the sensorto wake. Additionally for example, the Mobile AP may unicast the signalto wake or trigger a specific sensor, for example forming the wakesignal comprising characteristics (e.g., an individual network address,a code or other signal characteristic unique to the individual sensor,etc.) that identify the specific sensor. In an example scenario, thesignal may comprise characteristics designed to wake or trigger allrelevant sensors along the Mobile AP's (or vehicle's) route during aparticular day or shift, during the Mobile AP's (or vehicle's) travelsin a particular geographical region, etc.

It should be understood that, although various aspects of thisdisclosure present a signal that is utilized to wake a sensor from apower-save mode, the so-called wake signal need not wake the sensor(e.g., if the sensor is not sleeping). For example, the wake signal mayin various scenarios merely serve as an indication to the sensor that aMobile AP is in-range, and thus trigger sensing and/or communicationactivity of the sensor. Accordingly, such signals may be referred to asbeacon signals, trigger signals, wake signals, etc.

The waking (or triggering) of the sensor may, for example, beconfigurable (e.g., locally configurable at the sensor, configurable byan AP (e.g., by a Mobile AP, Fixed AP, etc.), configurable by anapplication executing in the Cloud and communicating with the sensor viaone or more APs, etc.). For example, a sensor may be configured to senseand/or wake a set number of times per day, for a particular duration,etc. Additionally, the Mobile AP can control whether the Mobile AP willsend the wake signal, for example based on the expected time or locationat which the Mobile AP is in the range of the sensor. Also, the sensormay autonomously decide when it will wake-up, for example based on theinformation it has to send, based on any of a variety of sensedconditions, etc.

In an example implementation, the sensor system (or circuit) maycomprise an accelerometer (or other sensor). Whenever the accelerometer(which may be attached to or housed with other sensor circuitry) ismoved, the accelerometer may send a signal to wake various circuitry ofthe sensor. In an example scenario, such an implementation may beutilized in a garbage collection bin which may cause the sensor to wakeeach time the bin is emptied, each time garbage is placed in the bin,etc., for example causing the sensor to sense, record, and/or report howfull the bin is.

In an example implementation, sensor waking and/or sensor data gatheringmay be coordinated between a plurality of APs (e.g., between a pluralityof Mobile APs and/or Fixed APs, etc.). Such coordination may, forexample, be performed at the Cloud level, but may also be performed atother levels of the network, for example at the Mobile AP level. Forexample, Mobile APs may communicate with each other to determine whetherto wake a particular sensor. For example if a Mobile AP, or for exampletwo Mobile APs for redundancy purposes, has already collected thedesired data from a sensor, the Mobile AP may inform other Mobile APs ofthe collection, so that the other Mobile APs do not waste the power,processing cycles, circuit lifetime, etc., of the sensor (and/or theother Mobile APs) by unnecessarily interfacing with the sensor. Asstated herein, such coordination may be performed in the Cloud (e.g., ata networked computing system associated with sensor data gathering,etc.), at a Network Controller (NC), at a Fixed AP or plurality thereof,distributed among a fleet of Mobile APs, etc.

An example scenario is shown in FIG. 7, which shows a block diagram ofan example communication network, in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure. The example network 700 may, for example, shareany or all characteristics with the other example networks and/ornetwork components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 800, 900, 1000,1100, and 1200, discussed herein. The following discussion presents anoverview of example management functions performed by the variousnetwork elements at each stage of the example scenario shown in FIG. 7.

Example Step A generally concerns the knowledge of sensors nearby an AP.The Cloud 710 (or a networked computing system or server 701 thereof)may, for example, advertise to APs (e.g., Fixed APs, Mobile APs, etc.)in the neighborhood or vicinity of sensors that may have data to send.Such advertising may, for example, comprise propagating a list ofsensors, communicating information regarding single sensorsindividually, etc. Such advertising is denoted graphically in FIG. 7 atarrow A3, which shows the flow of sensor information from the Cloud 710to a Fixed AP 702 of the Fixed AP infrastructure 720. Such communicationmay, for example, occur through a wired and/or wireless infrastructure.Note that such sensor information may also flow to the Fixed AP 703and/or to any other AP (e.g., all APs within a particular geographicaldistance of the sensor 709). Note that other Fixed APs (e.g., Fixed AP703, etc.) may also receive the advertising.

The Fixed AP 702 may then, for example, advertise to Mobile APs in theneighborhood of sensors that may have data to send. Such advertising isdenoted graphically in FIG. 7 at arrow A2, which shows the flow ofsensor information from the Fixed AP 702 to a Mobile AP 704 of the setof Mobile APs 730. Such communication may, for example, occur through awireless communication link (e.g., a DSRC link, etc.). Note that suchsensor information may also flow to any one or more of the other MobileAPs 705, 706, 707, and 708. In an example, scenario, the advertising maybe performed initially when a Mobile AP enters the general coverage areaof a Fixed AP, and then continue, for example as sensor information isupdated.

The Mobile AP 704 may then act on the received sensor information and/oradvertise to one or more other Mobile APs in the neighborhood of sensorsthat have data to send. Such advertising is denoted graphically in FIG.7 at arrow A1, which shows the flow of sensor information from theMobile AP 704 to the Mobile AP 706. Such communication may, for example,occur through a wireless communication link (e.g., a DSRC link, etc.).Note that such sensor information may also flow to any of the otherMobile APs. In the example scenario of FIG. 7, Mobile AP 706 may be ableto connect with the sensor 709. For example, the Mobile AP 706 mayoperate in accordance with a communication protocol that is alsoutilized by the sensor 709, the Mobile AP 706 may be authorized tocommunicate with the sensor 709, the Mobile AP 706 may be within RFrange of the sensor 709, etc. Note that all Mobile APs operating near aparticular sensor need be authorized to communicate with a particularsensor. Note also that the Mobile AP 706 may receive inputs from any ofthe other nodes of the network 700 (e.g., any of nodes 701-706 and707-708) from which the Mobile AP 706 may determine whether to wake (ortrigger) the sensor 709. For example, the Mobile AP 706 may receive asignal from another node of the network 700 indicating that sensor datahas already been collected from a particular sensor and need not becollected again (or should be collected only one more time forredundancy purposes, etc.).

The Mobile AP 706 may then, for example, transmit a signal, which asexplained herein may be referred to as a beacon signal or a triggersignal or a wake signal, to cause the sensor 709 to act. In an examplescenario, the signal may comprise signal characteristics that cause thesensor 709 to wake from a lower-power (or sleep) mode. The transmissionof the trigger signal is shown in FIG. 7 at arrow B1. The Mobile AP 706may, for example, also determine whether the transmission of such asignal is necessary. For example, the sensor 709 may already be awakeand need only hear a general-purposes beacon (e.g., a generic Wi-Fibeacon) from the Mobile AP 706 to trigger the sensor 709, and/or thesensor 709 may be of a type that wakes (or activates) in response onlyto an internal sensor (e.g., a motion sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope,shock sensor, noise sensor, moisture sensor, a user command, etc.) ortimer. Various examples of such AP and/or sensor operation are providedherein, for example at FIGS. 8-12, and the discussions thereof.

The sensor 709, as discussed herein, may wake (or trigger activity) inresponse to any of a variety of stimuli. For example, the sensor 709 maywake (or trigger sensing and/or communication activity) in response toan RF signal from the Mobile AP 706 (e.g., as indicated by arrow B1 inFIG. 7) or in response to any of a variety of other stimuli (e.g., asindicated by arrow B2 in FIG. 7), for example in response to a timer, inresponse to a signal from any of the sensors discussed herein, anycombination thereof, etc. Various examples of such sensor operation areprovided herein, for example at FIGS. 8-12 and the discussions thereof.

The sensor 709 may, for example in response to a triggering signal ordetected condition, perform a sensor measurement of its environment (ifnot already performed), establish a communication link with the MobileAP 706, and communicate data regarding the sensor measurement (or aplurality thereof) with the Mobile AP 706. The sensor 709 may, forexample, perform sensing in response to the received signal from theMobile AP 706 and/or may have already performed sensing, the results ofwhich need to be reported to the Mobile AP 706. The sensor 709 sensing,and connecting to and transferring the sensed data to the Mobile AP 706are indicated graphically in FIG. 7 by arrows C and D.

The sensor 709 may communicate the sensor data to the Mobile AP 706utilizing any of a variety of communication protocols. For example, thesensor 709 may utilize a low-power communication protocol (e.g., amodified Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), etc.) to communicatethe sensor data to the Mobile AP 706. Note that the Mobile AP 706 (oranother node through the Mobile AP 706) may define various aspects ofthe sensor 709 sensing and/or communicating activity. For example, theMobile AP 706 may specify (or define) an amount of bandwidth availableto the sensor for communicate, specify a data resolution and/or samplingrate, specify conditions under which the sensor is to wake or sleep,etc.

After sensing (if performed) and communicating the sensor data to theMobile AP 706, the sensor 709 may re-enter a sleep mode (if previouslyoperating in a sleep mode). For example, while operating in the sleepmode (or low-power mode), the sensor might only wake for particularevents or stimuli (e.g., triggering or wake signals, sensor stimuli,etc.).

As shown in FIG. 7, the sensor data from the sensor 709 may be gatheredby any of a number of Mobile APs 730. For example, the Mobile AP 707 isshown to be within wireless communication range of the sensor 709. Alsoshown in FIG. 7 are a plurality of communication pathways via which thesensor data may be communicated through the vehicle communicationnetwork 700 from the sensor 709 to a computing system 701 of the Cloud710. For example, the Mobile AP 706 may collect sensor data from thesensor 709 and communicate such sensor data to the Cloud 710 via theMobile AP 704 and Fixed AP 702. Also for example, the Mobile AP 706 maycommunicate the collected sensor data to the Cloud 710 through theMobile AP 707, Mobile AP 705, and Fixed AP 702. Additionally forexample, the Mobile AP 706 may communicate the collected sensor data tothe Cloud 710 through the Mobile AP 707, Mobile AP 708, and Fixed AP703. As discussed herein, any or all of the Mobile APs 730 maycoordinate with each other regarding the collection of data from thesensor 709.

Various additional examples of various aspects of the present disclosureare shown at FIGS. 8-12.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an example sensor system 800, inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The examplesystem 800 may, for example, share any or all characteristics with theother example networks and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400,500-570, 600, 700, 900, 1000, 1100, and 1200, discussed herein.

The Beacon Sensor block (or module) 801 may, for example, operate todetect and/or receive an external signal (e.g., a wake or triggersignal, which may also be referred to herein as a beacon signal, a wakesignal from a sensor, a wake signal from a user, etc.). The PowerControl block (or module) 802 may, for example, operate to wake andsleep various electronic components of the sensor system 800. The PowerControl block 802 may, for example, operate to turn on/off electricalpower to various circuits, increase/decrease electrical voltage providedto various circuits, turn on/off clock signals to various circuits,increase/decrease clock signal frequency to various circuits, etc.,based at least in part on signals received by the Beacon Sensor block801. In general, the Beacon Sensor block 801 and Power Control block 802may operate to perform or manage any or all of the sensor system 800power-save functionality discussed herein.

Note that the Beacon Sensor block (or module) 801, the Power Controlblock (or module) 802, and/or any operational block (or module)discussed herein may, for example, be implemented in-whole or in-part bya processor operating in accordance with software instructions stored ina memory (e.g., a non-transitory memory, a non-volatile memory, avolatile memory, etc.). Also note that any or all of such operationalblocks may be implemented in-whole or in-part utilizing anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete logiccomponents, any of a variety of passive or active electrical components,etc.

The example sensor system 800 comprises one or more sensors 804 thatoperate to provide information regarding any of a variety of sensedconditions, non-limiting examples of which are provided herein (e.g.,light, weight, vibration, acceleration, position, orientation, gas,particle, sound, noise, temperature, humidity, moisture, pressure,touch, electromagnetic radiation, pollution, allergens, etc.). TheProcessing Unit 803 (e.g., a microprocessor, microcontroller,application-specific integrated circuit, digital signal processor,general logic circuitry, etc.) may, for example, operate under thecontrol of power-save circuitry (e.g., the Beacon Sensor block 801, thePower Control block 802, etc.), but need not operate in a power-savemode. The Processing Unit block 803 may, for example, operate and/orinterface with the Sensor(s) 804, for example determining whether and/orhow to gather sensor data, communicate sensor data, etc. Also forexample, the Processing Unit block 803 may operate to managecommunication between the sensor system 800 and another entity, forexample a Mobile AP. The Processing Unit 803 may, for example, utilizethe Transceiver 805 (e.g., a Wi-Fi transceiver, etc.) to communicatewith such other entity.

The elements of the example sensor system 800 may, for example, all beintegrated into a single housing, distributed among a plurality ofhousings on a same object or at a same site, distributed among aplurality of housings at geographically distinct respective sites, etc.

The elements of the example sensor system 800 may also, for example, begrouped into various entities (e.g., units, subsystems, modules, etc.).For example, referring to FIG. 8, the example sensor system 800 maycomprise various logical entities (or groups thereof). For example, aSensor Control entity may comprise the Beacon Sensor block 801 and thePower Control block 802. Also for example, a Data Acquisition andTransmission (DA&T) entity may comprise the Processing Unit 803, theSensor(s) 804, and the Transceiver 805.

The Sensor Control entity may, for example, be responsible formonitoring the environment and the detection of beacons (or wakesignals, trigger signals, sensor signals, etc.) targeting or experiencedby the sensor system 800. The Sensor Control entity may also store alast condition of the Data Acquisition and Transmission unit, where suchinformation may be utilized to determine whether to wake-up the latteror not. In general, the Sensor Control entity may be configured toutilize very little power, thus being considered an ultra-low-powersystem. For example, the Sensor Control entity (e.g., the Beacon Sensorblock 801 and/or the Power Control block 802) may operate while the restof the system 900 is operated in a low-power mode (e.g., a sleep or deepsleep mode, etc.).

The DA&T entity may, for example, be responsible for the acquisition andtransmission of data from the one or more sensors that may be part ofthe unit installation of the system 800. As discussed herein, suchsensors may comprise any of a variety of characteristics. The DA&Tentity may, for example be operated (or placed) in a semi-permanent deepsleep state until the Sensor Control entity wakes it to acquire and/orsend the available data, when a scheduled data gathering action must beperformed, etc. In this way the sensor system 800 may be operated withvery-low power consumption, for example being operable with batterypower or low-energy alternative energy sources, for an extended periodof time.

FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an example AP system (e.g., a Mobile AP,Fixed AP, etc.) for interfacing with a sensor system, in accordance withvarious aspects of the present disclosure. The example system 900 may,for example, share any or all characteristics with the other examplenetworks and/or network components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600,700, 800, 1000, 1100, and 1200 discussed herein.

The Beacon Controller block 902 (or module) may, for example, operate toperform functionality relating to determining whether to wake and/orinterface with a sensor system. Many examples of such functionality areprovided herein. The Transceiver 903 may, for example, operate toperform any or all of the communication functionality for the system 900(e.g., communication with sensors, communication with other nodes of thenetwork, etc.). The Data Collector block 901 (or module) may operate tocollect, manage, and/or communicate sensor data. For example, the DataCollector block 901 may operate to implement any or all of thefunctionality discussed herein with regard to the collection,management, and/or communication of sensor data.

The Data Sender block 904 (or module), which may also be referred toherein as an Opportunistic Data Sender block 904 (or module), mayoperate to manage the communication of sensor data (e.g., raw sensordata, processed sensor data and/or metrics, etc.) to a destination(e.g., a Cloud server, a client server, a server of the networkoperator, etc.). In an example scenario, the Data Sender block 904 mayoperate to communicate delay-tolerant sensor information wheneverrelatively cheap communication pathways are available (e.g., via Wi-Fihotspots, via other Mobile APs, when the Mobile AP is in a vehicleparked at a hub, etc.). In another example scenario, the Data Senderblock 904 may also operate to utilize fast and reliable communicationlinks (e.g., a cellular link) for the communication of time-sensitivesensor data. Note that even within a particular upload technology (e.g.,utilizing a Wi-Fi hotspot, utilizing 802.11p, utilizing cellular, etc.)sensor data may be prioritized. The prioritization of data from varioussensors may, for example, be static but may also be adjusted inreal-time (e.g., in response to a present on-going test, in response toan emergency situation, in response to a potential network and/orvehicle anomaly, in response to a detected environmental condition,etc.). Many examples of sensor data communication are presented herein.

Note that the Beacon Controller block (or module) 902, the Transceiverblock (or module) 903, the Data Collector block (or module) 901, theOpportunistic Data Sender block (or module) 904, and/or any operationalblock (or module) discussed herein may, for example, be implementedin-whole or in-part by a processor operating in accordance with softwareinstructions stored in a memory (e.g., a non-transitory memory, anon-volatile memory, a volatile memory, etc.). Also note that any or allof such operational blocks may be implemented in-whole or in-partutilizing an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discretelogic components, any of a variety of passive or active electricalcomponents, etc.

The elements of the example AP system 900 may, for example, all beintegrated into a single housing, distributed among a plurality ofhousings at a same site (e.g., in or on a same vehicle), distributedamong a plurality of housings at geographically distinct respectivesites, etc.

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram of an example method 1000 of operating asensor system, in accordance with various aspects of the presentdisclosure. The example method 1000 may, for example, share any or allcharacteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1100, and1200, discussed herein. The method 1000 may be implemented by any of avariety of different types of sensor systems (e.g., the sensor system800 of FIG. 8). Various aspects of the example method 1000 are discussedherein.

At block 1010, the example method 1000 may comprise listening for asignal (e.g., a beacon signal, a trigger signal, a wake signal, etc.),for example from a Mobile AP, from a Fixed AP, etc. Block 1010 may, forexample, be performed by the Beacon Sensor block 801 of FIG. 8. Thesystem may, for example, be in a sleep (or low-power) mode at thispoint. When a signal is received, execution of the example method 1000may flow to block 1020. Note that, as discussed herein, any of a varietyof other stimuli (e.g., sensor signals, commands, user inputs, timers,etc.) may also cause execution of the example method 1000 to flow toblock 1020.

At block 1020, the example method 1000 may comprise analyzing thereceived signal, for example to determine whether the signal comprisescharacteristics that will trigger the sensor to perform an action (e.g.,wake up, sense, communicate sensed data, communicate sensor controlinformation, etc.). For example, the signal may comprise characteristicsthat identify the sensor, a group of sensors that includes the sensor,all sensors, etc. For example, the signal may be a unicast signaldirected to only the sensor, a multicast signal directed to a group ofsensors that includes the sensors, a broadcast signal directed to allsensors, etc. In an example scenario in which a Mobile AP maintains alist of sensors from which to collect data along the route of a vehiclecarrying the Mobile AP, the signal may comprise characteristics (e.g.,address information, etc.) directed to all sensors of the list ofsensors from which data is to be collected. In another example scenario,the Mobile AP may sequentially unicast a signal to a respective nextsensor as the vehicle carrying the Mobile AP along a route nears therespective next sensor. At block 1030, execution of the example method1000 is directed back up to block 1010 if the received signal is notdirected to the sensor, and is directed to block 1040 if the receivedsignal is directed to the sensor.

At block 1040, the example method 1000 may comprise determining whetherthe sensor has data to communicate. If the sensor does not have data tocommunicate and it is not yet time to acquire such data, then executionflow of the method 1000 proceeds back up to block 1010. If, however, thesensor has data to communicate and/or the sensor is going to acquire thedata, then execution flow of the example method 1000 proceeds to block1050.

At block 1050, the sensor (or communication-related circuitry thereof)is wakened. As discussed herein, various circuitry of the sensor may bepowered off, may be provided with a reduced current or voltage, may beprovided with no clock signal or a reduced-frequency clock signal, etc.At block 1050, the sensor circuitry associated with communication ofdata gathered by the sensor is activated or restored to normal operatingconditions. Note that various sensor circuitry may be awakened toperform the operations of blocks prior to block 1050 as needed. Forexample, at least a portion of the sensor circuitry may be activated (orrestored to normal operating conditions) to perform the signalreceiving, processing, and/or analyzing discussed herein.

At block 1060, the sensor establishes a communication link with the AP(e.g., Mobile AP, Fixed AP, etc.), for example the AP that sent thesignal received at block 1010, and utilizes the communication link tocommunicate sensor data to the AP. Note that the sensor may also receivesensor control information of the communication link (e.g., informationindicating how and when the sensor is to sense its environment, etc.).

At block 1060, after communication of the sensor data, the sensor mayreturn to a sleep or low-power mode of operation, after which executionflow of the example method 1000 proceeds back up to block 1010 forcontinued operation.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an example method 1100 of gatheringdata from sensor systems, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. The example method 1100 may, for example, share anyor all characteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and1200, discussed herein. The method 1100 may be implemented by any of avariety of different types of systems (e.g., the AP or Mobile AP system900 of FIG. 9, any of the network nodes discussed herein, etc.). Variousaspects of the example method 1100 are discussed herein.

As discussed herein, the Cloud (e.g., one or more computing systems orservers thereof) may be generally aware of all of the sensors using thenetwork. Such awareness may be propagated to the Fixed APs of thenetwork, for example according to the geographical area covered by theFixed AP, according to the geographical area covered by the Fixed APplus an additional buffer region surrounding the covered geographicalarea, etc. For example, the Cloud may (e.g., in a solicited orunsolicited manner) provide a list of sensors within (or near) a FixedAP's geographical area. Such a list of sensors may, for example,comprise a list of all sensors in the geographical area, a continuallyupdated list of all of the sensors in the geographical area for whichsensor data presently needs to be gathered, etc. An example of this isshown at block 1110 of FIG. 11.

The list of sensors may comprise any of a variety of characteristics.For example, as discussed herein, the list of sensors may include a listof all sensors within a geographical area associated with a Fixed AP.Also for example, the list of sensors may include a list of all sensorsthat a Mobile AP is expected to encounter while a vehicle (e.g., apublic transportation vehicle, a delivery vehicle, etc.) carrying theMobile AP traverses its designated route. Additionally for example, thelist of sensors may comprise geographical location information for eachsensor. The list of sensors may, for example, be organized in an ordercorresponding to the order in which the Mobile AP is expected toencounter the sensors. Further for example, as discussed herein, thelist of sensors may comprise information (e.g., for each sensor or groupthereof) that indicates the manner (e.g., communication network,protocol, maximum acceptable latency, etc.) in which data collected fromthe sensors is to be communicated.

While traveling through the geographical region, a Mobile AP may obtainthe list of sensors. As the Mobile AP gathers data from the listedsensors, the Mobile AP may indicate to the other Mobile APs and/or theFixed AP that the data has been gathered. Similarly, the Mobile AP mayreceive information regarding the collection of such data from otherMobile APs (or APs in general). An example of this is shown at block1120 of FIG. 11.

At block 1130 of the example method 1100, the Mobile AP maintains thelist of sensors (some or all of which may need to be awakened during thecollection process). For example, the Mobile AP may begin with a fulllist of the sensors in a Fixed AP's geographical location and/or a listof those sensors from which data needs to be gathered, and then theMobile AP may subtract from the list (or at least designate or flag)those sensors from which the data has been gathered by the Mobile APand/or other Mobile APs. Note that when the Mobile AP then travels toanother Fixed AP's geographical area, the Mobile AP may receive a newlist from such other Fixed AP. In an alternative scenario, a Mobile APmay be provided with a list of all sensors to be encountered during anexpected route of a vehicle carrying the Mobile AP, where such route mayencompass geographical areas associated with a plurality of Fixed APs.

At block 1140 of the example method 1100, the Mobile AP may form asignal (e.g., a beacon signal, trigger signal, wake signal, etc.) thatidentifies one or more target sensors. As discussed herein, the signalmay comprise characteristics (e.g., address data, other data, varioussignal features, etc.) that identify a single sensor, a group ofsensors, any sensor that hears the signal, etc. For example, the signalmay comprise characteristics that identify all sensors within thegeographical area of the Fixed AP, that identify all sensors within thegeographical area of the Fixed AP from which data presently needs to becollected (or gathered), that sequentially identifies only a next sensor(or group thereof), for example as a function of vehicle location, asthe vehicle carrying the Mobile AP traverses its route, etc.

At block 1150 of the example method 1100, the Mobile AP may concurrentlyor simultaneously collect sensor data from the sensors (e.g., at block1154), and update the list of sensors and/or the sensors identified inthe signal (e.g., at block 1152) as data is collected from the sensorsby the Mobile AP and/or other Mobile APs. The Mobile AP may, forexample, continue the sensor data collecting and list/signal maintaininguntil the sensor data is collected from all of the sensors on the listand/or until the Mobile AP leaves the geographical area. In an exampleimplementation, the Fixed AP, Cloud computing system or server orcentral controller, etc., may maintain a master list of sensors fromwhich data needs to be collected and from which data has already beencollected. Updated information from the master list may continually bepropagated to the Mobile APs and/or Fixed APs. Additionally, some or allof the sensors may locally maintain information as to whether theirrespective sensor data has been collected (e.g., notifying a Mobile APsoliciting the sensor's data that such data has already been collected,has already been collected a target number of times, etc.).

As data is collected from the sensors (e.g., at block 1154, etc.), theMobile AP may determine a manner in which to communicate the collectedsensor data (e.g., to a Cloud computing system, server, centralcontroller, client, etc.). As discussed herein, the Mobile AP maycommunicate the collected sensor data in any of a variety of manners(e.g., via the vehicular communication network, via a cellularcommunication network, via a Wi-Fi hotspot, etc.). In an exampleimplementation, the list of sensors may include (e.g., in a record foreach sensor) an indication of the manner in which the Mobile AP is tocommunicate the collected sensor data. For example, the list of sensorsmay indicate that sensor data from a first sensor (or first sensor type)is delay-tolerant and is to always be communicated in an opportunisticmanner when a Wi-Fi hotspot with Internet access is available, when avehicle returns to a hub at the end of a shift, etc. Also for example,the list of sensors may indicate that data from a second sensor is to becommunicated in an opportunistic manner when a Wi-Fi hotspot withInternet access is available, unless the sensor data warrants adifferent manner. For example, sensor data from a garbage can sensorthat indicates no garbage collection service is needed may becommunicated opportunistically, while sensor data from the same sensorthat indicates garbage collection service is urgently needed may becommunicated to a waste management client through the vehiclecommunication network as soon as possible. As another example, sensordata from a pollution particle sensor that exceeds a level at which ahealth warning should be issued may be communicated immediately using acellular network, while sensor data from such sensor that indicatespollution is at a normal level may be communicated in a delay-tolerantmanner.

In an example implementation, sensor data may be prioritized (e.g.,within the list of sensors, by the Mobile AP as sensor data is analyzed,etc.). For example, data from a first type of sensor (e.g., a sensorrelated to accident detection, emergency services, etc.) may be assigneda relatively high priority, data from a second type of sensor (e.g., asensor related to traffic management, pollution control, etc.) may beassigned a relatively moderate priority, and data from a third type ofsensor (e.g., a sensor related to waste management, potential neededroad repairs, etc.) may be assigned a relatively low priority. TheMobile AP may then communicate the collected sensor data in accordancewith its priority. For example, the Mobile AP may place higher prioritydata at the top of a communication queue. Also for example, the MobileAP may communicate sensor data with different respective priorities indifferent respective manners (e.g., high-priority data through acellular network, moderate-priority data through the vehicle network,low-priority data through a Wi-Fi network when available and/or at thevehicle hub when the vehicle has completed its route or shift, etc.).

At block 1160, for example after the Mobile AP is finished collectingthe sensor data from the listed sensors, the Mobile AP may disable ordiscontinue transmission of the signal (e.g., the beacon signal, triggersignal, wake signal, etc.).

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of an example method 1200 of operating asensor system and network, in accordance with various aspects of thepresent disclosure. The example method 1200 may, for example, share anyor all characteristics with the other example networks and/or networkcomponents 100, 200, 300, 400, 500-570, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, and1100, discussed herein. The method 1200, or portions thereof, may beimplemented by any of a variety of different types of network components(e.g., sensor systems, for example the example sensor system 800 of FIG.8, AP systems, for example the example AP system 900 of FIG. 9, Cloudsystems, etc.). Various aspects of the example method 1200 are discussedherein. In an example implementation, the example method 1200 may shareany or all AP-related characteristics with the example method 1100 ofFIG. 11, and share any or all sensor-related characteristics with theexample method 1000 of FIG. 10.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, with Fixed APscontinuously connected to the Cloud, an arbitration mechanism thatultimately causes a Mobile AP to decide whether to wake-up a sensor, maybe utilized, for example to optimize the performance of the datacollection and the expected lifetime of sensors.

Also in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, variousauthentication mechanisms are also included in the network, non-limitingcharacteristics of which are discussed herein. The Cloud may thus beaware of all the sensors using the network, and may otherwise grant ordeny access to their respective data. Such sensor system awareness maybe leveraged to decide if a sensor should be wakened to acquire data.For example, given the geographical area of a Fixed AP, the AP canrequest the Cloud (e.g., a computing system or server thereof) to sendit a list of sensors within the Fixed AP's geographical area, which maythen be propagated to the Mobile APs passing near the Fixed AP. Anexample of this is illustrated at FIG. 11 at item 1110. Also forexample, the Cloud may propagate such information to the Fixed AP in anunsolicited manner, for example when such information changes and theinformation previously propagated to the Fixed AP needs to be updated.

With Fixed APs regularly reachable, a Mobile AP can readily obtain alist of sensors that should be awakened, and/or from which sensor dataneeds to be collected. After obtaining such a list (e.g., which may beobtained as part of a push or pull system, solicited or unsolicited) andwhen traveling in the area, the Mobile AP may gather data from sensorsof the list of sensors, registering the sensors from which data wasobtained, and propagating that registration information among neighborMobile APs and Fixed APs, for example to prevent those sensors frombeing awakened again until needed. Note that the propagation of suchinformation may occur bi-directionally through the Mobile/Fixed AP meshnetwork. An example of such operation is shown at FIG. 11 at blocks 1120and 1130.

The wake frequency of a sensor, among other configuration parameters(e.g., timing, triggers, codes, sensor or data priority, sensor dataresolution, etc.), may be stored in the Cloud. Such storage for examplemay provide ready access to such information (e.g., by the Fixed APs,etc.) and provide for such information to be readily configurablethrough the Cloud.

In an example implementation, a sensor wake process may comprise fourphases. In the first phase, the Mobile AP decides to wake the sensor(e.g., based on information received from Fixed APs, informationreceived from surrounding Mobile APs, information regarding prior sensorinteraction, etc.). Non-limiting examples of this first phase are shownat FIG. 11, blocks 1110-1130 and at blocks 1210-1214 of FIG. 12.

In the second phase (e.g., a Beacon transmission phase), the Mobile APsends (e.g., broadcasts, multicasts, unicasts, etc.) a signal (e.g., abeacon signal, a trigger signal, a wake signal, etc.) comprisinginformation with the target sensor's address (or a plurality thereof) orsome other signal characteristic that will trigger (or wake) the targetsensor. The Mobile AP may, for example, start the beaconing processtargeting specific sensors using an addressing scheme. Non-limitingexamples of this second phase are shown at FIG. 11, blocks 1140-1150,and FIG. 12, block 1210.

In the third phase (e.g., a Beacon identification phase), the sensor,equipped with a Beacon Sensor (e.g., as shown at the Beacon Sensor block801 of FIG. 8), detects the beacon and determines whether the beacon isdirected to the sensor (e.g., addressed to the sensor, comprising somesignal characteristic that is indicative of the sensor, etc.). TheBeacon Sensor may, for example, provide various filters to filter out(or ignore) signals that are of no concern to the sensor. Non-limitingexamples of this third phase are shown at FIG. 10, blocks 1010-1030, andFIG. 12, blocks 1220-1224.

In the fourth phase (e.g., a Wake-up call phase), when a sensor istargeted, and if there is data available to upload to the network, thenthe sensor wakes to transfer its data (and/or perform real-time sensing)to the Mobile AP. Non-limiting examples of this phase are shown at FIG.10, blocks 1040-1060, and FIG. 12, blocks 1230-1240.

As the Mobile AP decides to wake-up a sensor or a cluster of sensors ina given region, the Mobile AP broadcasts a signal (e.g., a beaconsignal, trigger signal, wake signal, etc.) that is recognized by thesensors as the trigger to upload their stored data, and/or to acquiredata and then to upload the acquired data. As explained herein, thisbeacon signal may comprise any of a variety of characteristics that maybe analyzed by a low-power circuit in the sensors to determine whetherto wake the sensor. At block 1220, the sensor determines whether to wakeup. Note, however, that not all sensors need operate in a sleep mode.For example, some sensors may be fully awake and fully operational atall times.

Upon receiving a signal (e.g., a beacon signal, trigger signal, wakesignal, etc.) directed to it, the sensor system may take sensor readingsif necessary and then transfer data of the sensor measurements (e.g.,current measurements, stored prior measurements, etc.) to the Mobile AP,for example using a low-power communication protocol (e.g., a modifiedConstrain Application Protocol (CoAP) implementation, etc.). In anexample scenario, a modified CoAP implementation may, for example, allowthe information transfer to be authenticated to guarantee that thesensor is a genuine and authorized device. This authentication may, forexample, be token-based and backed up by service classification. Thus,in such an example implementation, only a sensor system (or device) witha matching pair token+service ID may enter the transport network andupload its sensor data to the Cloud.

Depending on the protocol utilized (e.g., the CoAP protocol, a modifiedCoAP protocol, etc.) session establishment may be avoided, resulting ina reduced time to deliver the sensor data to the Mobile AP. For example,when a sensor system (or device or unit) senses the presence of a MobileAP (e.g., by detecting a beacon signal directed to the sensor system orsome other event), the sensor may send the data, which is then acceptedor denied by the recipient. Thus, almost every packet exchanged betweenthe Mobile AP and the sensor system may data packets, resulting in lowcontrol overhead.

Regarding security, a protocol implementation such as CoAP may benefitfrom DTLS to guarantee data security and privacy for sensitive sensordata. Additionally, in security-conscious implementations, for examplewhere the cost is justified, the sensor data may be encrypted end-to-endbetween the sensor and a Cloud application.

In general, the utilization of a CoAP-like protocol facilitates fast,reliable and secure data transfers without the need for high-powerprocessing. The customization of the transmission parameters is alsobeneficial, for example facilitating the modification of transmissiontype in order to get the best compromise between speed and reliabilityfor the desired applications.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, sensoroperation may be configurable with a configuration file downloaded viathe Mobile AP. For example, various configurable parameters (e.g.,specifying when or how often a sensor should sense its environmentindependent of Mobile AP proximity, the triggering conditions for sensorsensing or communication, when the sensor should ignore wake signals,etc.) may be communicated to the sensor in a file or other datastructure. Additionally for example, as with the Mobile AP, the sensorsystems may also receive software upgrades from the cloud (e.g., via aMobile AP).

A network or system implemented in accordance with various aspects ofthe present disclosure provides many benefits. For example, thedeployment of sensors of many different types is low-cost, sensormaintenance is low-cost, data collection from the sensors is low-cost,sensor reliability and longevity is high, etc. Also for example, therich network environment for sensor data collection enables the analysisof many sensed characteristics, the analysis of which was previouslycost-prohibitive.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, examples of thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,192, titled “CommunicationNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, the networksand/or components thereof presented herein are provided with systems andmethods for integrating such networks and/or components with othernetworks and systems, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/221,997, titled “IntegratedCommunication Network for A Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for synchronizing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,016, titled “Systems and Methods forSynchronizing a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,042, titled “Systems and Methods forManaging a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for monitoring such networks and/or components,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/222,066, titled “Systems and Methods forMonitoring a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for detecting and/or classifying anomalies insuch networks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which areprovided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,077, titled“Systems and Methods for Detecting and Classifying Anomalies in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,098, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing connectivity in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,121, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Connectivity a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for collecting sensor data in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,135, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Collecting Sensor Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep.22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for interfacing with such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,145, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Sep. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for interfacing with a user of such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,150, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Interfacing with a User of a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for data storage and processing in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,168, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Data Storage and Processing for a Network of Moving Things,” filedon Sep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for vehicle traffic management in such networksand/or components, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,183, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Vehicle Traffic Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for environmental management in such networks and/orcomponents, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,186, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Environmental Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing port or shipping operation in suchnetworks and/or components, non-limiting examples of which are providedin U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/222,190, titled “Systems andMethods for Port Management in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onSep. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of positioning orlocation information based at least in part on historical data,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/244,828, titled “Utilizing Historical Data toCorrect GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22, 2015,which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing the accuracy of position or locationof positioning or location information based at least in part on theutilization of anchors, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/244,930, titled “Using Anchorsto Correct GPS Data in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Oct. 22,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing communication between applications,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/246,368, titled “Systems and Methods forInter-Application Communication in a Network of Moving Things,” filed onOct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for probing, analyzing and/or validatingcommunication, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/246,372, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Probing and Validating Communication in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Oct. 26, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for adapting communication rate, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/250,544, titled “Adaptive Rate Control for Vehicular Networks,” filedon Nov. 4, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for reconfiguring and adapting hardware,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/273,878, titled “Systems and Methods forReconfiguring and Adapting Hardware in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for optimizing the gathering of data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/253,249, titled “Systems and Methods for Optimizing Data Gathering ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 10, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing delay tolerant networking,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/257,421, titled “Systems and Methods for DelayTolerant Networking in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Nov. 19,2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for improving the coverage and throughput ofMobile Access Points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/265,267, titled “Systems andMethods for Improving Coverage and Throughput of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 9, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for coordinating channel utilization, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,858, titled “Channel Coordination in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for implementing a network coded mesh network in thenetwork of moving things, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/257,854, titled “Systems andMethods for Network Coded Mesh Networking in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Nov. 20, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for improving the coverage of Fixed Access Points,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/260,749, titled “Systems and Methods forImproving Fixed Access Point Coverage in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Nov. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing mobility controllers and their networkinteractions, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/273,715, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Managing Mobility Controllers and Their Network Interactions in aNetwork of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 31, 2015, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for managing and/or triggering handovers ofMobile Access Points, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/281,432, titled “Systems andMethods for Managing and Triggering Handovers of Mobile Access Points ina Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan. 21, 2016, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing captive portal-related control andmanagement, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/268,188, titled “CaptivePortal-related Control and Management in a Network of Moving Things,”filed on Dec. 16, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for extrapolating high-value data, non-limitingexamples of which are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.62/270,678, titled “Systems and Methods to Extrapolate High-Value Datafrom a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Dec. 22, 2015, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote software updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/272,750, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Software Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for providing remote configuration updating anddistribution, non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,662, titled “Systems and Methodsfor Remote Configuration Update and Distribution in a Network of MovingThings,” filed on Jan. 14, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Still further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure,the networks and/or components thereof presented herein are providedwith systems and methods for adapting the network, for exampleautomatically, based on user feedback, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,243, titled“Systems and Methods for Adapting a Network of Moving Things Based onUser Feedback,” filed on Jan. 22, 2016, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Yet further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for enhancing and/or guaranteeing data integritywhen building or performing data analytics, non-limiting examples ofwhich are provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/278,764,titled “Systems and Methods to Guarantee Data Integrity When BuildingData Analytics in a Network of Moving Things,” Jan. 14, 2016, which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Also, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for performing self-initialization and/or automatedbootstrapping of Mobile Access Points, non-limiting examples of whichare provided in U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/286,515, titled“Systems and Methods for Self-Initialization and Automated Bootstrappingof Mobile Access Points in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Jan.25, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Additionally, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for managing power supply and/or utilization,non-limiting examples of which are provided in U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/295,602, titled “Systems and Methods for PowerManagement in a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 16, 2016, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Further, in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure, thenetworks and/or components thereof presented herein are provided withsystems and methods for automating and easing the installation and setupof the infrastructure, non-limiting examples of which are provided inU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/299,269, titled “Systems andMethods for Automating and Easing the Installation and Setup of theInfrastructure Supporting a Network of Moving Things,” filed on Feb. 24,2016, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In summary, various aspects of this disclosure provide systems andmethods for collecting data in a network of moving things. Asnon-limiting examples, various aspects of this disclosure providesystems and methods for operating sensor systems and collecting datafrom sensor systems in a power-efficient and network-efficient manner.While the foregoing has been described with reference to certain aspectsand examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the disclosure without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to theparticular example(s) disclosed, but that the disclosure will includeall examples falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication network mobile access point (MAP)comprising: a plurality of wireless transceivers operable to providewireless communication between the MAP and a vehicle communicationnetwork, and to provide wireless local area network (WLAN) access pointservices; and at least one module comprising a processor and a memory,wherein the at least one module is operable to, at least: receive aninitial list of sensors from which the MAP is to collect sensor datawhile the MAP travels along an expected travel route; and while the MAPis traveling along the expected travel route: utilize a first wirelesstransceiver of the plurality of wireless transceivers to provide WLANaccess point services to a client device; as the MAP travels withinwireless communication range of a first in-range sensor of the initiallist of sensors: utilize the first wireless transceiver to establish awireless communication link with the first in-range sensor; collectsensor data from the first in-range sensor; and utilize a secondwireless transceiver of the plurality of wireless transceivers tocommunicate the sensor data collected from the first in-range sensor toa destination node via the vehicle communication network; receiveinformation from a second access point of the vehicle communicationnetwork; and in response to the received information: change the initiallist of sensors to an updated list of sensors from which the MAP is tocollect sensor data while the MAP travels along the expected route; andas the MAP travels within wireless communication range of a secondin-range sensor of the updated list of sensors:  utilize the firstwireless transceiver to establish a wireless communication link with thesecond in-range sensor;  collect sensor data from the second in-rangesensor; and  utilize the second wireless transceiver to communicate thesensor data collected from the second in-range sensor to a destinationnode via the vehicle communication network.
 2. The MAP of claim 1,wherein the at least one module is operable to, prior to saidestablishing the wireless communication link with said first in-rangesensor: identify a location of the MAP; and identify said first in-rangesensor based, at least in part, on the identified location of the MAP.3. The MAP of claim 1, wherein: the initial list of sensors comprisessensor location information for the first in-range sensor; the initiallist of sensors comprises sensor wake-up signal information for thefirst in-range sensor; and the at least one module is operable to, whilethe MAP is traveling along the expected travel route and prior to saidestablishing the wireless communication link with the first in-rangesensor: determine a location of the MAP; identify, based at least inpart on the determined location of the MAP and on the sensor locationinformation of the initial list of sensors, the first in-range sensor;determine, based at least in part on the sensor wake-up information ofthe initial list of sensors, characteristics of a first signal that willwake the first in-range sensor from a sleep mode; and utilize the firstwireless transceiver to transmit the first signal comprising thedetermined characteristics to wake the first in-range sensor from thesleep mode.
 4. The MAP of claim 1, wherein: the second access pointcomprises a second MAP; the received information comprises informationfrom the second MAP indicating that the second MAP has collectedinformation from a particular sensor of the initial list of sensors; andthe at least one module is operable to change the initial list ofsensors to an updated list of sensors by, at least in part, removing theparticular sensor from the initial list of sensors or flagging theparticular sensor on the initial list of sensors.
 5. The MAP of claim 1,wherein the received information originates at a central controller andcomprises information identifying sensors within a particular geographicarea in which the MAP is traveling.
 6. The MAP of claim 1, wherein theat least one module is operable to remove an already-serviced sensorfrom the initial list of sensors or to flag the already-serviced sensoron the initial list of sensors based, at least in part, on acommunication from the already-serviced sensor indicating that thealready-serviced sensor's data has already been collected.
 7. The MAP ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one module is operable to remove analready-serviced sensor from the initial list of sensors or to flag thealready-serviced sensor on the initial list of sensors based, at leastin part, on a communication indicating that sensor data from thealready-serviced sensor has been collected by another MAP.
 8. The MAP ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one module is operable to change theinitial list of sensors by, at least in part, coordinating sensor datacollecting with one or more other MAPs, wherein said coordinating isperformed at a MAP level of the vehicle communication network.
 9. TheMAP of claim 1, wherein the at least one module is operable to receivethe initial list of sensors from a Fixed AP of the vehicle communicationnetwork while the MAP is traveling.
 10. The MAP of claim 9, wherein thereceived initial list of sensors comprises a list of sensors within ageographical region associated with the Fixed AP.
 11. The MAP of claim1, wherein the initial list of sensors comprises sensor locationinformation for all stationary sensors on the initial list of sensors.12. The MAP of claim 1, wherein the initial list of sensors is organizedin an order in which the MAP is expected to encounter each sensor of theinitial list of sensors as the MAP travels along the expected travelroute.
 13. The MAP of claim 1, wherein the initial list of sensors isreceived from another AP, and comprises information indicating a mannerin which sensor data collected from the first in-range sensor is to becommunicated from the MAP to another node of the communication network.14. The MAP of claim 1, wherein: the initial list of sensors comprisesfirst information indicating that sensor data collected from the firstin-range sensor is to be communicated immediately; and the updated listof sensors comprises second information indicating that sensor datacollected from the second in-range sensor is to be communicated in adelay-tolerant manner.
 15. The MAP of claim 13, wherein the informationindicating a manner in which sensor data collected from the firstin-range sensor is to be communicated from the MAP to another node ofthe communication network comprises information regarding timeconstraints associated with communication of the sensor data collectedfrom the first in-range sensor.
 16. The MAP of claim 1, wherein the atleast one module is operable to determine a manner in which tocommunicate the sensor data collected from the first in-range sensor toa destination, and communicate the collected sensor data to thedestination in the determined manner.
 17. The MAP of claim 16, whereinthe at least one module is operable to determine to delay communicatingthe sensor data collected from the first in-range sensor to thedestination until the MAP is within range of an available Wi-Fi hotspot.18. The MAP of claim 16, wherein the at least one module is operable todetermine the manner in which to communicate the sensor data collectedfrom the first in-range sensor based, at least in part, on a value ofthe sensor data collected from the first in-range sensor, where thevalue is indicative of a sensed condition.
 19. The MAP of claim 1,wherein the at least one module is operable to notify other MAPs thatthe sensor data collected from the first in-range sensor has beencollected.
 20. A communication network mobile access point (MAP)comprising: one or more wireless transceivers operable to providewireless communication between the MAP and a vehicle communicationnetwork, and to provide wireless local area network (WLAN) access pointservices; and at least one module comprising a processor and a memory,wherein the at least one module is operable to, at least: while the MAPis traveling: utilize a first wireless transceiver of the one or morewireless transceivers to provide WLAN access point services to a clientdevice; receive a list of sensors from a fixed access point (FAP) of thevehicle communication network, wherein the list of sensors comprisesinformation identifying one or more sensors in a geographical regionassociated with the FAP and from which the MAP is to collect sensor dataas the MAP travels through the geographical area; utilize the firstwireless transceiver to transmit a first signal comprisingcharacteristics to wake a target sensor of the list of sensors; utilizethe first wireless transceiver to establish a wireless communicationlink with the target sensor of the list of sensors; collect sensor datafrom the target sensor over the wireless communication link; communicateinformation to an access point of the vehicle communication networkindicating that the collected sensor data has been collected; determinea manner in which to communicate the collected sensor data to adestination; communicate the collected sensor data to the destination inthe determined manner; and when the sensor data has been collected fromthe target sensor: flag the target sensor in the list of sensors as asensor from which sensor data has been collected; or remove the targetsensor from the list of sensors.